KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo County has another new homeless shelter to serve the needs of homeless residents with health issues.
The county board approved allocating over $465,000 from the Housing Millage to a coalition of healthcare organizations, the ISK, and WMed for start up costs to get the facility fully staffed and funded for certification.
“The proposal anticipates future sustainability through Medicaid reimbursement, that’s very important, and healthcare integration,” says County Housing Director Mary Balkema, who adds it’s a “cost avoidance strategy” that will be less taxing on local agencies and public services than what’s currently happening.
“As a result, the same individuals repeatedly cycle through emergency departments hospital admissions, law enforcement interactions, crisis systems and shelters. The question is not whether the county is paying. The county is already paying through fragmented crisis systems.”
Balkema says they started providing healthcare sheltering to the houseless as part of this past winter’s emergency funding, so they know it works.
“This is important because the board is not funding a purely theoretical concept. Early outcomes suggests meaningful reductions in acute care utilization.”
She says the end goal will be to help their patients find permanent housing.
The shelter has been operating in two homes on Oakland Drive with limited funding from local groups and partial staffing since the winter sheltering project ended in March.
The county funding will keep the doors open for up to 18 months, giving them time to find other sources of revenue to keep the shelter open.
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