HACA GETS $40K FOR HEALTH & WELLNESS PROGRAMMING

HACA is one of five public housing agencies in the country recently chosen to receive a $40,000 one-year grant from the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, with funding provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, for a joint project with UnitedHealthcare Community & State called Improving Health by Aligning Housing and Health Systems.

This project brings together leaders in the housing and healthcare sectors to help improve the health of public housing residents and Housing Choice Voucher participants.

The core components of this six-month planning grant are: data sharing between HACA and UnitedHealthcare to identify residents' health needs; identifying resident/community health needs to identify an area of focus; and developing intervention to address resident/community health needs to improve health outcomes.

At the end of the planning period, each community will have a six-month implementation and evaluation plan focused on improving the health of Medicaid beneficiaries, which could lead to lower costs over the long term.

HACA currently partners with local community organizations to offer regular on-site classes on health-related topics such as fall prevention, nutrition and blood pressure. Fitness and nutrition classes as well as meals to those in need are also provided.