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David Adame, President and CEO, Chicanos Por La Causa
Challenge: Affordable housing is rarely the only thing low-income families need. Often they are faced with impossible decisions like whether to forgo medical treatment to pay for rent or forgo rent to pay for food. Issues with health, housing and basic needs may stand between a client and steady employment.
Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) recognizes that affordable housing is rarely the only need of a low-income family. The families we serve in the southwestern United States are often faced with impossible decisions like whether to forgo medical treatment to pay for rent or forgo rent to pay for food. Issues with health, housing and basic needs may stand between a client and steady employment. Families must often connect with different service providers to meet each need, which can be a major barrier when transportation and time are already scarce. A family may be provided with numerous referrals and never make their first appointment.
CPLC is a community development corporation committed to building stronger, healthier communities as a lead advocate, coalition builder and direct service provider. CPLC serves more than 200,000 individuals annually each year through housing, economic development, education, and health and human services programs designed to empower families to become financially stable, healthy and self-sufficient.
After nearly 50 years of service, CPLC recognizes that family issues are complex. Unstable income, unsafe housing or food insecurity can all negatively affect health. According to findings from County Health Rankings, only 20 percent of an individual’s modifiable health outcomes are attributed to access to or quality of clinical care, while 80 percent is determined outside of the healthcare setting:
Though it is a for-profit entity, UHC, like CPLC, has a significant interest in improving the health of vulnerable families. UHC Community and State provides health insurance coverage to individuals eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs. The company has found that approximately 20 percent of its client base is using 80 percent of the healthcare resources, representing a significant cost to the company and the community. By targeting these high-needs individuals through investments in preventive care and social services, UHC can substantially reduce healthcare system utilization and consequently reduce costs.
The UHC-CPLC partnership created the myCommunity Connect Center, located in a 30,000-square foot CPLC facility in a low-income neighborhood of Phoenix. The center houses a broad range of health and social services provided by nonprofit and government agencies under one roof to achieve collective impact. Each service is sustained by its own grants and funding mechanisms.
Services include:
Researchers are evaluating the effects of the program on individual health outcomes and healthcare costs. This knowledge will help improve service delivery and attract additional investment.
In its earliest stages, the partnership has provided nearly 3,000 meals from its diabetic food pantry, placed 250 people in jobs, provided 200 bus passes to facilitate transportation to work, and offered housing support services to 200 individuals.
Additionally, UnitedHealthcare Community and State provided capital for CPLC to acquire and rehabilitate apartments in the low-income neighborhoods surrounding the facility. A portion of the units will provide affordable housing for clients at the Center, while market-rate units will provide a sustainable funding source to support the cost of Center operations. Upon full implementation, the project will be financially self-sustaining.
Evidence shows that health and housing are inextricably linked. We learned that as grant funds remain volatile and communities’ needs increase, we can seek partnerships in unlikely places to remain financially sustainable, leverage knowledge and resources and truly achieve collective impact.
Challenge: Affordable housing is rarely the only thing low-income families need. Often they are faced with impossible decisions like whether to forgo medical treatment to pay for rent or forgo rent to pay for food. Issues with health, housing and basic needs may stand between a client and steady employment.
Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) recognizes that affordable housing is rarely the only need of a low-income family. The families we serve in the southwestern United States are often faced with impossible decisions like whether to forgo medical treatment to pay for rent or forgo rent to pay for food. Issues with health, housing and basic needs may stand between a client and steady employment. Families must often connect with different service providers to meet each need, which can be a major barrier when transportation and time are already scarce. A family may be provided with numerous referrals and never make their first appointment.
CPLC is a community development corporation committed to building stronger, healthier communities as a lead advocate, coalition builder and direct service provider. CPLC serves more than 200,000 individuals annually each year through housing, economic development, education, and health and human services programs designed to empower families to become financially stable, healthy and self-sufficient.
After nearly 50 years of service, CPLC recognizes that family issues are complex. Unstable income, unsafe housing or food insecurity can all negatively affect health. According to findings from County Health Rankings, only 20 percent of an individual’s modifiable health outcomes are attributed to access to or quality of clinical care, while 80 percent is determined outside of the healthcare setting:
- 40 percent is a result of factors such as education, employment, income and community safety;
- 30 percent is a result of health behaviors such as nutrition, exercise, substance use and sexual activity;
- 10 percent is a result of the physical environment such as housing, air and water quality.
Though it is a for-profit entity, UHC, like CPLC, has a significant interest in improving the health of vulnerable families. UHC Community and State provides health insurance coverage to individuals eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs. The company has found that approximately 20 percent of its client base is using 80 percent of the healthcare resources, representing a significant cost to the company and the community. By targeting these high-needs individuals through investments in preventive care and social services, UHC can substantially reduce healthcare system utilization and consequently reduce costs.The UHC-CPLC partnership created the myCommunity Connect Center, located in a 30,000-square foot CPLC facility in a low-income neighborhood of Phoenix. The center houses a broad range of health and social services provided by nonprofit and government agencies under one roof to achieve collective impact. Each service is sustained by its own grants and funding mechanisms.
Services include:
- Primary, dental and behavioral health care
- Workforce development
- Affordable housing
- Financial literacy
- Healthy food and nutrition education
- Medical transportation services
Researchers are evaluating the effects of the program on individual health outcomes and healthcare costs. This knowledge will help improve service delivery and attract additional investment.
In its earliest stages, the partnership has provided nearly 3,000 meals from its diabetic food pantry, placed 250 people in jobs, provided 200 bus passes to facilitate transportation to work, and offered housing support services to 200 individuals.
Additionally, UnitedHealthcare Community and State provided capital for CPLC to acquire and rehabilitate apartments in the low-income neighborhoods surrounding the facility. A portion of the units will provide affordable housing for clients at the Center, while market-rate units will provide a sustainable funding source to support the cost of Center operations. Upon full implementation, the project will be financially self-sustaining.
Evidence shows that health and housing are inextricably linked. We learned that as grant funds remain volatile and communities’ needs increase, we can seek partnerships in unlikely places to remain financially sustainable, leverage knowledge and resources and truly achieve collective impact.
