Friday, May 3, 2024
5/3/2024
La Maestra’s Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness project will engage and connect the population of focus to behavioral health treatment, case management, and recovery support services; assist with identifying sustainable permanent housing by collaborating with homeless services organizations and housing providers, including public housing agencies; and provide case management that includes care coordination/service delivery planning and other strategies that support stability across services and housing transitions. The goal of La Maestra’s Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness project is to provide comprehensive, coordinated and evidenced-based services for individuals, youth, and families with a serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED) or co-occurring disorder (COD) who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness (e.g., people exiting jail or prison without a place to live) in San Diego County, California. The project will be implemented before the beginning of the fourth month of award. The organization expects to achieve this goal by reaching the following objectives: 1) increase the exposure of La Maestra services to homeless populations by outreaching to a total of 400 individuals annually (2,000 over the project period) through community events, health fairs, and street outreach; 2) screen at least 250 patients annually (1,250 over the project period) for SMI, SED, SUD, and/or COD using evidence-based screening tools; 3) provide direct SUD, behavioral health treatment, and recovery support services to a minimum of 125 individuals annually (625 over the project period); 4) link at least 90% of program participants to sustainable permanent housing through partnerships with homeless service organizations and housing providers; and 5) enroll at least 80% of individuals with positive SUD, OUD, or co-occurring screens into case management and public program enrollment assistance. In 2022, La Maestra served 40,654 patients. According to 2022 clinic data, 86% of patients served are living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, 23% of patients are uninsured and 73.5% are underinsured. In addition, 79.7% of patients belong to a racial or ethnic minority and 58.3% identified as being best served in a language other than English. A According to the 2022 System Performance Measures collected by the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFHSD), 12,270 persons in San Diego County were reported living in Emergency Shelters (ES), Safe Havens (SH), and Transitional Housing (TH), in addition to 4,106 living unsheltered. Overall, this is a 10% spike countywide since 2020, or the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In central San Diego, where La Maestra’s main clinic is located, the unsheltered population increased by 9.2%. In other parts of La Maestra’s service area, such as south and east San Diego County, percentages have increased by 24.2% and 24.7%, respectively. Furthermore, 43% of homeless people living on the streets in San Diego County were reported to have mental health issues and the National Alliance to End Homelessness suggests that approximately 35% of individuals experiencing homelessness struggle with some form of substance abuse. La Maestra will adhere to current Evidence Based Practices and expand its Wellness Clinic to ensure that all patients seeking TIEH services receive the comprehensive, culturally appropriate and linguistically competent care they require to achieve recovery. In addition, performance assessment services for this program will be conducted by Dr. Andrew Sarkin, Ph.D., a third-party evaluator from the University of San Diego’s Health Services Research Center (HSRC). HSRC is a comprehensive research unit that was established in 1991. Dr. Sarkin has over two decades of evaluation experience in behavioral health medicine and clinical psychology.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
