Take note of homelessness and health care

When I started working with people who are experiencing homelessness nearly 18 years ago, it was my hope was that as a nation, a state and a community, we would see the number of children, families and individuals living without homes decline. Yet, the number of people who are homeless continue to increase. Millions of people worldwide, and more than 500,000 people in the United States, are homeless. While ending homelessness is the resounding mission of most agencies and coalitions working for housing solutions for people who are homeless, it must not be a utopian dream.

Think about it as you read this: More than half a million people in our great nation, and thousands in our city and county, do not live in a home.

Housing as a basic human right is a wonderful vision. A safe place to call home must continue to be a vision for our neighbors, both globally and in our own community. Our health center, and our partners on the campus of Mesilla Valley Community of Hope, are working together to better the lives of individuals in our community in need. Through housing, food, day care, and health care, our agencies are doing a small part in a humanitarian effort within our own community.

August 4-10 is National Community Health Center week, and Aug. 5 was National Healthcare for the Homeless Day. These designations are intended to draw attention to the positive work hundreds of thousands of people in our nation are doing to improve the health and wellness of people who might not otherwise have access to the services that would improve their lives. In Doña Ana County there are three Community Health Centers — Amador Health Center, Ben Archer Health Center and La Clinica de Familia — that are available to serve anyone regardless of ability to pay. Our agencies serve those with insurance, and those without; our agencies provide quality care to those who can afford to pay, and to those who cannot.

The main financial ingredient that helped our three clinics get started was federal funding developed in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty in the 1960s and 1970s to create health centers to provide access to quality care throughout our nation. Half of the federal funding Amador Health Center receives is to specifically provide services to people who are experiencing homelessness. The Health Care for the Homeless funding helps us to reach out to those who are not accessing primary care, or who are using the emergency rooms as their medical provider. This funding helps us target services toward the needs of people whose homelessness causes or exacerbates health conditions. Depression, anxiety, hypertension, substance use, PTSD, diabetes are often three to six times higher in people experiencing homelessness. Life expectancy for this population drops more than 30 years than for individuals with housing.

For our part, Amador Health Center and its staff will continue to work with others in the community to help those with medical and behavioral health needs intensified by homelessness. But while this population is one of our targets, our doors are open to everyone. We take most lines of private insurance, as well as Medicaid and Medicare. When people with insurance come to our clinic for care performed by our quality staff, our investment in your health care is your investment in our clinic and service to others. We are open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesdays until 6 and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Walk-ins or by appointment. Call 575 527-5482 or log on to www.amadorhealthcenter.org

This week, please think about those in your own community who are homeless, and those who are working to help them.

Pamela Angell is CEO of Amador Health Center.