SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 23, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams accepted a $500,000 grant from Intermountain Healthcare Wednesday to help assist individuals in the homeless community with finding accessible healthcare.
The mayor said the money signals important non-profit support for the plan developed by the city and county, together with many stakeholders, to minimize homelessness.
McAdams said, at the gathering at the Fourth Street Clinic downtown, that the gift comes at a crucial time when all the participants in the homeless initiative are uniting around a request to the Utah legislature to provide state funding.
The funding will help with construction of several new, smaller emergency shelters. McAdams said the coalition is seeking $27 million from the upcoming legislative session.
“Intermountain Healthcare’s donation is the best Christmas gift we could hope for, as we bring private and nonprofit partners together in the cause of minimizing homelessness,” said McAdams. “One of our 14 agreed-to outcomes in the homeless initiative is to meet the basic needs of those in crisis, and nothing is more basic than helping the homeless receive healthcare.
“The intent is to help increase access to healthcare services including care management and direct services to improve the health of at-risk families and individuals who find themselves in crisis.
“Nothing is more basic or stabilizing than to help someone in crisis, and help them control chronic health issues such as diabetes or heart disease. Utah is known for coming together to deal with tough issues; minimizing homelessness, I believe, will be our next opportunity to shine.”
Intermountain Healthcare vice president Mikelle D. Moore said the organization’s mission of “helping people live the healthiest lives possible” is best achieved through collaboration with community partners.
She said the donation to the Community Foundation of Utah will support the work of the providers, such as the Fourth Street Clinic, that serve the medical needs of the homeless population.
“We recognize clearly that people can’t really achieve health through only receiving care when they come to hospitals,” said Moore. “We really need to be reaching into our communities to improve health where people are. Our contribution will go to some of those connecting services, the things that will help focus on the individual homeless person or families’ needs and connect them to service providers.”
Details of the initiative are available at http://www.slco.org/homeless-services/collective-impact-on-homelessness/
