Advocacy Through Innovative Health Partnerships Sarah Callender, LCSW, Director of Health and Wellness & Amy Turk, LCSW, Chief Program Officer Downtown Women’s Center The Network for Social Work Management Annual Conference June 2016

Who We Are Primarily a direct-service organization: Drop-In Day Center, Health Services, Job Readiness, and Housing for more than 3,000 women annually. Amy

Collective Impact: a model we know and love “The commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem…” Amy

Traditional Collective Impact Model Health Partnership Community-Based Organizations Local Businesses Government Agencies Universities Healthcare System People with Lived Experience Amy

Benefits of Collective Impact Can help clarify goals and vision Can accomplish systems-level work Good for standardizing tools/processes Involves traditionally unengaged groups Builds momentum Amy

Challenges of Collective Impact Competing or mismatched priorities Competition for funds Trust- and relationship-building can be skipped or rushed through Focus on tools and processes Existing relationships, conflicts, expertise Selection/creation of the backbone organization Amy

Our journey towards a new model of Collective Impact Goal: Ending Women’s Homelessness Amy

Housing First Conference Regional Workgroups Media CBO Federal Government CBO Researcher CBO American Roundtable Regional Workgroups Researcher CBO National Alliance CBO CBO CBO Clients Housing First Conference Regional Workgroups Govt Clients Amy: DWC observes that there are specific strategies we are using to meet women’s unique needs that make us particularly effective in ending their homelessness. We want to know if other people are finding that by designing women-focused services 50 interviews and 14 site visits to agencies serving homeless women. CBO Researcher FUNDERS! Govt CBO

Advocacy Efforts CONVENER PROVIDER Sarah INFORMER

Advocate for the development of more permanent supportive housing. ACTION AGENDA Advocate for the development of more permanent supportive housing. Promote Trauma-Informed Care Encourage more research on homeless women, their needs, and effective services Empower more women advocates to share their stories, meet their goals and help end homelessness for all Sarah

Programming to Elevate Voice of Women We Serve Peer Leadership in all programs Advisory Board Provide advocacy training to participants/residents Accompany participants on media interviews, meetings with elected officials, testimony, etc. Create story bank of women’s stories Sarah

Downtown Women’s Action Coalition Advocacy group that addresses issues affecting homeless women Founded by DWC, LA CAN, and partner organizations in 2001 Downtown Women’s Needs Assessment conducted every three years Monthly policy meetings for program participants/community residents Sarah

1-in-4 Convenings Held two national convenings on women’s homelessness in October 2014 and January 2016 Raise awareness, expand research, and advocate for increased funding Growth in regional 1-in-4 approach Sarah

Co-Located Federally Qualified Health Center at DWC Weekly multidisciplinary team meetings where we discuss client issues and advocate for changes in care if needed Pilot new programs to better serve clients Quarterly meetings with the Medical Director to make policy and procedural changes that will better serve our clients Work with health plans to reduce barriers if needed Attend homeless healthcare conferences with FQHC staff to learn more about how, where and with whom to advocate for our clients Sarah

John A. Hartford Foundation Change AGEnts Initiative Piloted a program to help women enroll in Medi-Cal/Medicare when they are applying for housing rather than waiting until they are housed Wrote a white paper on this project to share learnings with other agencies Use convenings to educate other healthcare providers about the unique needs of homeless women Sarah

SCALE/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Institute for Healthcare Improvement Project One of the only orgs in this project serving homeless individuals Steering committee comprised of a major health plan, local FQHC, university, people with lived experience and experienced advocates Adapting chronic disease curriculum to meet the needs of our clients Sharing learnings with other organizations through a learning collaborative Using social change theories and other tools provided by SCALE to impact work at all levels Use quarterly learning academies to educate other organizations on the unique needs of homeless women Sarah

Make your mission mainstream Infiltrate & communicate Create collective thinking Amy

Go Big, Go Bold Reach beyond your circle Go national Connect national with local Amy

Instead, use backbone organizations. Bend them to your will! You don’t have to be a backbone organization … Amy Instead, use backbone organizations. Bend them to your will!

Best and Emerging Practices Research, data, repeat Amy

First share lunch – then share agendas Sarah

Grab every opportunity Knock on every door Ring every bell Bend every ear Sarah Everyone knows someone

Engage your Clients & Beneficiaries Sarah Helps keep your eyes on the goal Keeps it real

Create multiple networks Sarah

Amy