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Council extends cooperative agreements for medical respite and Health Care for the Homeless
Summary
Council voted to extend and amend cooperative endeavor agreements with Volunteers of America for medical respite beds and to extend the Health Care for the Homeless advisory board agreement; city health officials described the respite pilot as a short-term recuperative placement with high placement rates into stable housing.
The City Council approved amendments Dec. 18 to cooperative endeavor agreements that fund medical respite beds and the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) advisory board.
Doctor Vaguehno (speaker record) described the respite pilot: when someone is treated in hospital but not ready to return to the street, Volunteers of America (VOA) provides short-term recuperative apartments and limited medical oversight while caseworkers work on more stable housing placements. "Most of our shelters are not set up in order to take folks who might be recovering from pneumonia or a hip fracture," the official said, explaining the program’s role. Council members said the program has a strong placement rate and that beds are consistently full.
Council approved an amendment to extend the VOA agreement for a further 12 months and a separate amendment to extend the Health Care for the Homeless cooperative agreement for five years to maintain compliance with federal HRSA requirements. The measures passed by recorded voice votes after brief discussion about program details and funding sources.
