Street CCRED in the Community:
Street CCRED partners with community agencies, health care programs and organizations that work with and support vulnerable populations in Calgary. Through these partnerships and collaborations, we have been able to help initiate, facilitate and expedite the development of programs and community initiatives. Here are some projects we are currently involved with that are making a difference today for Calgary's most vulnerable.
Street CCRED partners with community agencies, health care programs and organizations that work with and support vulnerable populations in Calgary. Through these partnerships and collaborations, we have been able to help initiate, facilitate and expedite the development of programs and community initiatives. Here are some projects we are currently involved with that are making a difference today for Calgary's most vulnerable.
CALGARY DROP IN CENTRE HEALTH SERVICES MANAGER-COVID 19 INITIATIVE
The impact of COVID-19 is significantly worse for the estimated 2900 homeless individuals in Calgary who have limited access to appropriate health care, encounter daily discrimination and stigmatization, and face numerous barriers that make following important safety precautions like intensified sanitizing and social distancing difficult if not impossible. Street CCRED has partnered with the Calgary Drop-In Centre to help fill gaps in primary care, mental health & addictions services, outreach, and support for those facing homelessness, food insecurity and poverty. The project will support staffing to help ensure a comprehensive and safe resource for individuals seeking to access multiple areas of health care and support in the face of a global pandemic.
PARK(ING) DAYS
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Street CCRED partnered with The Drop In Centre (DI) to participate in the 2020 Park(ing) Days event. This annual competition hosted by The City of Calgary and the Alberta Association of Landscape Architects invites participants to create a fun, interesting and interactive display in a designated City parking space. Street CCRED and the DI set up a living room and dining room on Kensington Road to demonstrate the need for basic household donations and to showcase the efforts of the DI’s Donation Centre. Street CCRED also took the opportunity to speak with pedestrians about the negative health effects that homelessness causes. We are proud to have received an honourable mention in this year's competition.
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CAMPP PROGRAM EVALUATION
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The role of the Mobile Street Health Team (MSHT) will be two parts, 1) clinical health supports for persons experience homelessness through the CCT Paramedics Team and 2) case management wrap around supports from the new Health Navigator positions created from the grant. Currently in Calgary, the CCT Paramedics team is a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) resource dedicated to overcoming the obstacles to care faced by patients living with homelessness, addiction, and poor mental health. “Past research has shown that homeless individuals often face significant barriers to accessing health and addictions supports, and accessing/adhering to treatments (or medications) when they are prescribed. Homeless individuals also often feel unwelcome in health service settings, which may decrease their desire to seek support when needed, exacerbating many health issues” (Evaluation report pg. 3)
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EMS CITY CENTRE TEAM HEALTH NAVIGATOR PROGRAM
Research has shown that homeless individuals often face significant barriers to accessing health and addictions supports, and accessing/adhering to treatments (or medications) when they are prescribed. They also often feel unwelcome in health service settings, which may decrease their desire to seek support exacerbating many health issues. Street CCRED wrote and submitted a grant application and will support ongoing project needs for a Mobile Street Health Team (MSHT). The project includes two components: 1) clinical health supports for persons experiencing homelessness through the Centre City Team EMS Team and 2) case management wrap around supports from two new Health Navigator positions created from the grant. Currently in Calgary, the CCT Paramedics team is a Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) resource dedicated to overcoming the obstacles to care faced by patients living with homelessness, addiction, and poor mental health.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO OPIOID POISONING EPIDEMIC (COPE)
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With the support of Street CCRED, several agencies, individuals and volunteer groups joined forces under the umbrella of COPE to help strategize ways of delivering community education, training, capacity building and advocacy related to overdose prevention and harm reduction. COPE training was initially customized to meet the needs of individual client organizations for on-site delivery but with the onset of Covid-19 the program pivoted to an online webinar format. Opioid epidemic and Covid-19 training was provided to approximately 600 frontline health and social service staff thanks to the support of the Calgary Foundation and in partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary and West Side Harm Reduction. Efforts continue in Calgary and more recently in Lethbridge where the epidemic continues to claim an alarming number of lives. Read more HERE and watch one of the training webinars below.
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Caring for Vulnerable Populations in a Time of Crisis: Overdose Response
Street CCRED would like to recognize and thank our funders:
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