Kansas City, MO · November 22, 2017: The connection between housing and healthcare for homeless populations is widely recognized but rarely addressed. All evidence shows that mental and physical health suffers without stable, quality housing. Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health and the Vecino Group aim to change this by partnering with a joint mission—to improve health conditions and housing stability for Kansas City’s neediest residents.
In April 2017, Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health and the Vecino Group executed a memorandum of understanding, committing to a multi-year plan to develop tangible permanent housing options and supportive services. Community collaboration was a priority as well. The need to work with different stakeholders to identify both existing and potential resources was also outlined in the MOU.
Creating permanent supportive housing solutions for Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health’s clients will address the housing/health connection in lasting and cost-saving ways. The national cost of providing no housing intervention for a homeless individual is $56,000 annually or a daily cost of $153. The cost of providing single-site permanent supportive housing to an individual is $43.51 per day, totaling $15,881.15 annually.
On October 1, 2017, Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health and the Vecino Group released a Five-Year Strategic Housing Plan, the partnership details the steps necessary to create quality housing opportunities for Kansas City’s most vulnerable citizens. The strategic housing plan can be found at www.vecinogroup.com/500in5
By 2022, up to 500 units of permanent supportive housing will be secured or under construction in Jackson County, Missouri for persons served by Truman Behavioral Health who are homelessness, at risk of homelessness, and/or frequent utilizers of emergency systems.
For more information regarding this partnership, please contact Joselyn Pfliegier, Vecino Group, Supportive Housing Developer, Joselyn@VecinoGroup.com or (816) 423-2609.