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October started with the yearly Planning Retreat, when our members from throughout the country debated and reached consensus about future directions for our work. As usual, it was a privilege to watch people who have experienced homelessness, clinicians and health program administrators interact and make decisions as equals. Watching this in the context of health care reform was stunning: the overriding thought was not, "How do we use this to our benefit?," or even, "How do we survive these changes?," but, "How do we show the world what we have done in HCH, so reform can emulate us?"
Our planning at the Retreat reflected not just our pride in what HCH accomplishes every day, but also a sober assessment of what Health Care Reform has not accomplished: millions will remain uninsured, and health care will remain a commodity for profit-making rather than a right for the people in our country. Our planning also considered our field's own needs, working from a formal Needs Assessment that our Research Team conducted among hundreds of HCH administrators, practitioners and clients. It was clear that even after 25 years of HCH, much remains for us to do.
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| Later in the month, at our urging, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) convened a "listening session" designed to let officials from CMS and other federal agencies learn about how HCH integrates care for people without homes. A particular focus was our work in Permanent Supportive Housing settings, where people who have experienced homelessness can receive well-integrated services to sustain their newfound stability, despite having multiple and complex health problems. |
REGIONAL HCH TRAINING | NASHVILLE | NOVEMBER 3-4
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| As October ends, we are preparing for a two-day Regional Training here in Nashville, the first of three regional events prior to our national conference in June 2011. We'll mark the end of the Nashville training with a benefit performance at the world-famous Bluebird Café. Please join us at the Bluebird on November 4 if you can; if you can't be with us in person, you can be here virtually by making a secure on-line donation to our organization. It will go a long way, and there's much more work to be done.
>> Please click here to make your tax-deductible contribution.
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