Healing the Streets (HTS) is funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and aims to develop an integrated service model for people experiencing homelessness to include access to health, behavioral health, and housing services, including housing vouchers for those who are eligible.This program will combine street medicine with an expanded level of behavioral health services, case management and peer support using a Critical Time Intervention model, and connection to housing navigation and vouchers. County partners and key stakeholders will work together to serve community members experiencing homelessness in the cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz (as identified in the grant.) HTS services will be focused on serving people wherever they are and delivered in a field-based team and mobile health van, in partnership with our County’s Homeless Persons Health Project. The Homeless Persons Health Project (HPHP) Street Medicine Program is a primary care and outreach response team designed to address the critical need to support people experiencing homelessness in Santa Cruz County. Core to the model of the HTS program, is that all service delivery will be low-barrier, self-directed, and include a harm reduction orientation to ensure authentic client-centered interactions. The HTS team will work closely with community service providers in Watsonville and Santa Cruz to coordinate care for people experiencing homelessness.
HTS staff work collaboratively with a multitude of Watsonville and Santa Cruz agencies serving vulnerable populations that are experiencing homelessness and mental health challenges. The HTS team will works alongside these agencies to support clients in need in the following areas:
The qualifications to enroll into HTS are:
Interested in enrolling into Healthing the Streets? Use our contact form to send us an email or call us at (831) 454-4352. One of our Healing the Streets team members will respond and let you know what you need to qualify.
A value of the HTS team is to take the lead from clients in setting goals and accessing services that they identify as a priority. The core HTS team (composed of County Behavioral Health staff and contracted Front St. Inc. case manager and peer staff members) work with key Health Services Agency staff across divisions to provide low barrier access to services and to increase client engagement.