Dr. David Buck has been appointed to the 15-member Advisory Board of the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program. The board, newly created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will make recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services on grants and loans to establish nonprofit, member-run health insurers serving the individual and small-group markets.. (read GAO Press Release)
Frances Isbell, Executive Director, presented Integrated Care, Goal-Negotiated Care and Jail Inreach at the annual conference of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, meeting June 2-5 in San Francisco.
VIVA Volunteers
The Volunteer Appreciation Picnic was held Saturday, May 8 from 12-2 at Christ Church Cathedral.
Examples of courageous people who are taking steps out of homelessness.
A Song of Trinidad
If you had been in the reception area of Healthcare for the Homeless -- Houston’s downtown clinic on May 5, you would have heard, in a Caribbean cadence and melody, Hazel Jack’s joyous song:
"Trinidad is my land and of which I am proud and glad... But I can’t understand why some people does talk it bad."
Ms. Jack, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, was singing the song because, after a long and difficult time in Houston, she was finally returning home to her family.
Ms. Jack, came to Houston in 2001 to gain access to the medications she needed to stay healthy – medications that were unavailable in Trinidad. After she arrived here, her situation got worse. She was robbed, and in the process lost her passport and identification papers. Without money, without documentation, and unable to read, she wandered between Houston’s homeless shelters, receiving a variety of services -- meals, showers, and clothes. Eventually, she ended up sleeping on a sheet of cardboard under a freeway overpass. In the process, she completely lost contact with her family, 7 daughters in Trinidad and 1 son in New York City.
In her wanderings around the city, Ms. Jack often went to Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston. The Manager of Social Services, Betty Roy, saw to it that Ms. Jack’s immediate medical needs were addressed, but she realized that, long term, Ms. Jack would need to return to the care of her family in Trinidad.
After 2 1/2 frustrating years dealing with various government and social service agencies, Ms. Roy finally got a breakthrough with the officials at Trinidad’s Consulate in Miami. They had located one of Ms. Jack’s daughters, a schoolteacher in Trinidad. Ms. Roy also found a way for Ms. Jack to obtain an emergency passport and identification so that she could make the trip back home.
Arranging for the travel expenses was a combined effort of Healthcare for the Homeless – Houston, Lord of the Streets, and Loaves and Fishes, Mental health, Mental Retardation of Harris County, and the Way Station of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church.
On Monday, May 5, Hazel Jack, boarded Continental Flight #418 from Houston to Trinidad, only the second time Ms. Jack had ever been on an airliner. Adriana Johnson, the Dental Clinic Manager at Healthcare for the Homeless – Houston, accompanied Ms. Jack on the trip and helped her with her belongings and with customs and check-in.
Continental Airlines was very helpful in arranging for a wheelchair and making the trip comfortable and enjoyable, ending in a joyous reunion of Ms. Jack and 3 of her daughters, who came to meet her at the airport and welcome her home.
“We’re very proud of our staff and greatly appreciate the hard work and determination they showed in Ms. Jack’s case,” said David S. Buck, M.D., President of Healthcare for the Homeless – Houston. “They sacrificed their own time and money, and overcame all sorts of obstacles, to ensure that a homeless and vulnerable woman was able to return to her home.”
“We’re also very thankful to all of Houston’s organizations who serve homeless people,” continued Dr. Buck. “It’s this kind of collaborative effort that’s necessary to address the needs of Houston’s homeless population.”