Inspira Health donates $50,000 to help fund the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative efforts to end chronic homelessness in Cumberland County. From left to right, Ralph Padilla, CEO Puerto Rican Action Committee; Ron Rossi, Inspira Health chairman of the board of trustees; Ray Garcia, M25 incoming president; Amy Mansue, Inspira Health president and CEO; Dave Moore, Inspira Health executive director of Behavioral Health; Dr. Robin Weinstein, founder and president M25; Anne Hartman, M25 board member; Albert B. Kelly, mayor of Bridgeton; and Joe Derella, director Cumberland County board of commissioners.
Inspira Health donated $50,000 to help fund the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative efforts to end chronic homelessness in Cumberland County, the health care organization’s fourth donation. The Housing First model has proven to reduce health care costs and incarceration and recently, the collaborative celebrated the milestone of moving in its 100 client into a new home.
The Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative is a collection of social service organizations, faith-based institutions, and government officials committed to tackling the problem of homelessness. The guiding agency of this collaboration is the M25 initiative with additional partners including Gateway Community Action Partnership, PRAC of Southern New Jersey, Resources for Independent Living, Acenda Integrated Healthcare, Inspira Health, CompleteCare Health Network, Cumberland County Government & Correctional Facility, and Volunteers of America Delaware Valley. The collaborative was started in 2015, and in 2017, the organization began moving in clients who transitioned from being homeless to being homeBLESSED.
“Our mission as a health care network is to improve the lives of all we serve in the community,” said Amy Mansue, president and CEO of Inspira. “The work that has been accomplished thus far has been extraordinary, and we are honored to be a founding member of this initiative to help put an end to chronic homelessness. I am grateful for the community partners who make up the collaborative and the leadership provided by the M25 Initiative.”
Since 2017, Inspira has donated a total of more than $200,000 to the collaborative, demonstrating its commitment to addressing chronic homelessness, which is a significant social determinant of health. The Housing First model places people in their own dwelling first, while simultaneously making sure that all needed medical, behavioral health and social services are being provided.
“We are very grateful for Inspira’s partnership and donations to make this important work possible,” said Dr. Robin Weinstein, president of the M25 Initiative and founder of the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative. “With Inspira’s continued support, we are addressing homelessness in a humanistic and holistic way by providing our clients with a home, medical and behavioral health services and logistical support to help them improve their well-being.”
According to data compiled by the M25 Initiative and Collaborative partners, the program has a retention rate of 88% after one year. Since 2017, initial findings indicate a reduction of hospital utilization from 60% to 90% among clients with a record of prior utilization. Based on the data compiled from the local jail, initial findings indicate a reduction of jail stays from 86% to 95% among clients with a record of prior utilization.
Through collaboration with its partners, the organization can provide stable and sustainable no- or low-cost housing – as well as offer “wrap-around” services including mental health care, case management, social services, and medical health care. By stabilizing their living situation and offering comprehensive care, these individuals have an opportunity to improve their own social determinants of health which, ultimately, leads to a more equitable distribution of health care resources across the community and better quality of life.
The M25 Initiative has announced that it has secured funding to place an additional 20 individuals in their own homes through 2022.
The M25 Initiative is a 501c3 non-profit in Cumberland County, created for the sole purpose of engaging, equipping, empowering, and mobilizing individuals and organizations to employ innovative and cooperative solutions to alleviate suffering, feed the hungry, end poverty, reduce crime, revitalize a spirit community and transform lives.
For more information on the Housing First Collaborative, visit www.endhomlessness2020.com. For more information on the M25 Initiative, visit www.m25initiative.org or call 1-844-M25-HOPE. For more information about Inspira Health, visit www.InspiraHealthNetwork.org or call 1-800-INSPIRA. To stay connected with Inspira announcements and work being done in the community, join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Inspira Health is a charitable nonprofit health care organization and a regional leader in physician training, with approximately 160 medical residents and fellows in 10 nationally accredited specialty programs. The system, which traces its roots to 1899, comprises three hospitals, two comprehensive cancer centers, several multispecialty health centers and a total of more than 150 access points. These include urgent care; outpatient imaging and rehabilitation; sleep medicine labs; cardiac testing facilities; digestive health and wound care centers; home care and hospice; and more than 35 primary and specialty physician practices in Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem, Camden and Atlantic counties.
Together with its medical staff of more than 1,300 physicians and other care providers, as well as more than 6,200 employees, Inspira Health provides evidence-based care to help each patient achieve the best possible outcome. Accredited by DNV Healthcare, the system’s clinical and support staffs are focused on providing quality care in a safe environment. For more information about Inspira Health, visit www.InspiraHealthNetwork.org or call 1-800-INSPIRA.