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Yesterday, August 16th, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council observed HCH Day, a day of celebration in National Health Center Week dedicated to Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) programs. Hopefully, you and/or your HCH program participated in some HCH Day activities that highlighted the importance of the HCH way – meeting the human needs of those we serve with humility, cultural competence, and a sense of justice. The Council has previously supplied tools to the HCH community that were used by many organizations to demonstrate to elected officials and the public the value of their HCH programs and services, including a Storytelling Guide on how to better bring the consumer’s voice to the public.
We are highlighting those resources again in this issue, because although HCH Day is over, the valuable services that HCH brings, and the need to tell others about the value of HCH, have not ended. In fact, there is the need NOW–during the Congressional August recess – to talk to your elected officials about Health Care for the Homeless, invite them to visit your services, and to let the public know about your work. Please look at our reflection on the nature of #HCHValue and our spotlight on Dallas, TX’s HOMES program to learn new ways to think about and celebrate our work, and become familiar with, and USE, the HCH Value paper and the Storytelling Guide referenced in this issue.
Just as our work doesn’t stop after HCH Day, neither do our efforts to let the public know about the value of our work. We have a long way to go until everyone realizes that health care and housing are human rights, but day by day we demonstrate it loudly through our work. We also need to explicitly tell others about our life-saving work, and the Council is here to support you in those efforts—don’t hesitate to call on us.
In Solidarity,
Bobby Watts
Chief Executive Officer
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
(615) 226-2292
bwatts@nhchc.org