CalAIM

The California Advancing and Innovating MediCal, or CalAIM, program provides an unprecedented opportunity for our Homeless Response System to partner with other service delivery systems and provide true wraparound programming for our most vulnerable neighbors. KTHA’s CalAIM Coordinator works to strengthen the ties between cross-sector service providers (e.g., housing, healthcare, behavioral healthcare, County services, substance use disorder care, etc.) to maximize collaboration and cooperation between agencies and to minimize the extent to which the system itself is a barrier to accessing services. The goal of the CalAIM Coordinator is to support and empower the hard-working people providing services to those who need them.

Racial Equity

Those who work in the homeless response system can often recognize the inequities in housing support and services for people experiencing homelessness. Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities within the system of care for those who are experiencing or are close to experiencing homelessness can be attributed to centuries of institutional racism, such as redlining, Jim Crow legislation, and racially discriminatory biases, to name a few. Therefore, any effort to eliminate homelessness must actively challenge the systems and policies that can perpetuate inequitable practices that may further marginalize historically minoritized communities. This means that system policies and service providers must ensure that actions will support and sustain the positive outcomes of people experiencing homelessness.

There is an overrepresentation of Black, American Indian/Native American, Hispanic/Latina/e/o, Asian, Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander individuals disproportionately impacted within the homeless response system in Kings and Tulare Counties. The Alliance acknowledges the urgency to reduce homelessness by expanding the developing local capacity to address immediate homelessness challenges through a best practice framework and equitable efforts using a racial equity lens.

Street Medicine

KTHA collaborates with Kaweah Delta to provide free medical services through the Street Medicine Program in Tulare County. Street Medicine involves delivering health and social services to the specific needs of unhoused individuals in their environment. The main goal is to engage with unhoused individuals on their terms, reducing barriers to care. Reaching out to unhoused individuals where they live, such as in alleyways, under bridges, along rivers, or in urban encampments, is essential for building trust with this vulnerable population. Street Medicine is a crucial first step in providing higher levels of medical, mental health, and social care, leading to coordinated housing and collaborative care management.