In Seattle, a mobile medical program serves up to 1,400 patients every year with medical, behavioral health and dental services. The combined $700,000 in annual federal and municipal funding pales in comparison to the cost of emergency services as an alternative.

 3. Outreach and Case Management

• 3.A: Enhance Access and Use of HMIS
• 3.B: Case Manager Training and Professional Development
• 3.C: Expand Use of Peer Support Mentors
• 3.D: Intensive Case Management and Outreach
• 3.E: Mobile Services Team

Systematic, coordinated and comprehensive outreach, plus quality and intensive case management, are essential to ensuring people have access to basic necessities, even if they don't seek help on their own. Read the entire section here (pages 54-65 of the full report.)

3.A: Enhance Access and Use of HMIS

The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) collects client-level and housing data related to homelessness on a local level. It allows 42 agencies, responsible for 164 programs serving people experiencing homelessness, to share data and measure outcomes.

OKC's strategy is to hire an HMIS Data Manager that will serve only the OKC service area, and reallocate existing funds to expand participation at no cost to local programs..

3.B: Case Manager Training and Professional Development

Case managers play life-saving roles for people experiencing homelessness, but ongoing training and development support can maximize the effect of their efforts. A case manager provides critical care coordination, identifies needs, prioritizes action and develops a cost-effective plan to fit the needs of every client.

In Oklahoma City, onboarding, standardized training and professional development to support specialization can help ensure the same high quality case management services are delivered across all programs.

3.C: Expand Use of Peer Support Mentors

Peer support mentors are people who have successfully completed the recovery process. They can have an outsized impact on someone going through something similar. These person-centered, recovery-oriented, relationship-focused and trauma-informed interactions can have a lasting, positive impact on someone's recovery process.

OKC's strategy calls for expanding local peer support programs at existing and new providers, and securing funding.

3.D: Intensive Case Management and Outreach

There's a direct link between intensive services and improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. Case management includes intake, needs assessment, service planning, connecting to services, ongoing monitoring and client advocacy.

Oklahoma City should help hire outreach and intensive case management candidates, explore partnerships with key organizations and operate under a shared memorandum of understanding with partners.

3.E: Mobile Services Team

Mobile services teams go to places where people experiencing homeless congregate and offer mobile healthcare services, often in a van, bus or recreational vehicle. These critical services help break through access barriers and overcome issues with trust in the healthcare system. A 2008 study in Boston showed mobile healthcare units, at a program cost of $567,000, saved $3 million in annual emergency room costs and provided $20 million worth of preventative services.

In Oklahoma City, we should secure funding for a mobile services program, and launch it with the help of local service providers.

Read the full Outreach and Case Management section here (pages 54-65 of the full report).

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