- In Gresham, Oregon, Outreach Team “Cuts Homelessness 74%.” For Fox12 News, Lia Kamana reports on the success that the City of Gresham is having with their Homeless Services Team, which local officials credit with driving a sustained decrease in the city’s homeless population, while the larger county, Multnomah, has seen homelessness increase. The four person team “assists clients in overcoming barriers including criminal backgrounds and past evictions, while helping them find jobs and housing that will set them up for success.” The team then does case management and checks in with clients once they have secured housing to help make sure they remain housed. Ivanna Nellum, a formerly homeless mother sleeping in her car despite working full-time, told the station that once the outreach team stepped in, her life changed — and she’s now in stable housing:
“Despite working six to seven days a week as a caregiver for autistic children, Nellum was struggling to make ends meet and sleeping in her car with her family…. The team connected with Nellum … [and] initially put her up in a hotel … less than a month later, she moved into a new apartment with rent assistance for up to six months… ‘I’m just real grateful. You can definitely put your trust in them, they will never steer you wrong. Looking at all of this, it’s beautiful, it’s all I could have asked for.’”
- In Eagle County, Colorado, “Homeless Services Team Works To Fill Housing Gaps.” For Vail Daily, Zoe Goldstein reports on the county’s homeless services team, in operation since 2022 and a first of its kind in the county, which helps the area’s “homeless population find permanent housing.” To do this, the team’s caseworkers “engage with unsheltered individuals and families, helping them complete housing applications and connecting them with other resources for their mental and physical health.” The team also provides access to the county’s Day Center where residents at risk of homelessness can access “case management, clothing, lockers, mail services, toiletries, and vouchers for showers and laundry… [as well as] financial assistance and supportive services to help individuals and families avoid housing loss.”
- In Pennsylvania, University Medical School Students “Lead Penn Medicine’s Homeless Outreach Project.” For Penn Today, Daphne Sashin reports that Penn medical students leading the Homeless Outreach Project are providing direct, on-the-street care to the local homeless population. The effort is already showing promise:
- Street-Level Medicine: Students and physicians assess hypertension, chronic wounds, and diabetes; provide medications for “common conditions” and connect people directly to clinics.
- Improved Outcomes: Emergency-department visits for patients fell “by 45 percent” in the program’s first year — results clinicians attribute to meeting patients where they are and sustaining contact over months.
- Bridging Street Care To Long-Term Support: The team augments Penn’s existing safety-net system by connecting people met on the street to the University City Hospitality Coalition’s free weekly medical clinic — creating continuity of care across outreach walks, clinic visits, and follow-up. Volunteers train peers in “street medicine [and] wound care,” expanding the city’s capacity to serve unsheltered patients.