Long Island Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness - Community Input Survey - Healthcare

The Long Island Continuum of Care (CoC) is engaging in a strategic planning process to address homelessness in the region. A strategic plan will help us to understand where we are currently in our efforts to address homelessness, where we want to go, and how we will get there. In an effort to develop new strategies and solutions that are truly community-driven, we are looking for input from our partners across systems and sectors. Our goal is to understand what is currently working well in our homeless response system, what could be improved, and what is missing when we consider the needs of people both at-risk of and experiencing homelessness. The input gathered through this process will help to shape the strategies that build out our action plan.

We know that healthcare partners play an extremely important role in the homeless response system as we know that people experiencing homelessness or housing instability are frequently interacting with healthcare systems as well. For example, many people seek shelter or services in an emergency room setting. We believe that healthcare partners have valuable insight into the needs of the people they are seeing day to day, as well as the best solutions to address them. Please share as much detail as possible in your responses to this survey.
1.Which county is your healthcare facility located in?
2.When people accessing healthcare share that they are experiencing homelessness (e.g., sleeping in a shelter or motel) or are in danger of becoming homeless (e.g., facing eviction or other displacement), what are some of the primary needs they express?
3.Which resources have been most effective and accessible for helping people to meet those needs?
4.Are there resources you wish there were more of, or resources that you wish existed for the people you encounter?
5.Are there any trends that concern you? For example, an increase in homelessness among a certain population, or more people describing a specific unmet need?
6.In what ways can screening for housing instability and homelessness be improved to connect individuals with the proper resources better?
7.How can discharge protocols be enhanced to ensure individuals are not discharged back into homelessness?
8.What else can you share with homeless response system leaders about homelessness on Long Island and what steps should be taken towards solving it?