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Pilot 'SASH for All' embeds health and wellness staff in affordable housing to prevent homelessness, presenters say
Summary
Cathedral Square and Windham & Windsor Housing Trust described the SASH for All pilot, which places community health workers, a wellness nurse and an emotional wellness clinician in affordable housing to reduce emergency visits and prevent evictions.
Representatives of Cathedral Square and Windham & Windsor Housing Trust presented the SASH for All pilot to the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on April 15, describing the program as a prevention-focused, in-place model that extends the Support and Services at Home (SASH) approach to a younger, lower-income population living in affordable housing.
Molly Dugan, who testified and identified herself as a Cathedral Square staff member, said SASH for All embeds a full-time community health worker, a part-time wellness nurse (RN) and an emotional-wellness clinician in participating properties. "SASH stands for support and services at home," Dugan said; she told the committee the pilot serves roughly 250 participants (about half children), with an average participant age of about 40. Dugan said the average number of visits per participant is 26 per year and that staff have prevented evictions and reduced emergency-department use among participants.
Elizabeth Bridgewater, executive director of Windham and Windsor Housing Trust, described small-scale community-building activities (for example, a "make soup together" event) that reduced loneliness and strengthened neighbor relations. Testimony from housing providers emphasized that SASH for All can connect residents to primary care, mental-health services and benefits enrollment and said the pilot shows measurable reductions in emergency-department visits and improvements on anxiety and loneliness screens.
Program advocates asked the committee to continue funding at a minimum of $400,000 to sustain the pilot; they noted a more ambitious statewide spread could require roughly $2,000,000. Committee members asked how SASH for All coordinates with existing community providers; presenters said participants sign consent forms to allow information sharing among partner agencies and that the program uses memoranda of understanding to prevent duplicate services.
The committee agreed to hear additional testimony and to fold the SASH request into the committee’s prioritization exercise with Appropriations staff.
