HCH2020 Pre-Conference Institutes
Four full-day Pre-Conference Institutes (PCIs) are available on Monday, May 11, at the 2020 National HCH Conference. These in-depth sessions will explore medical respite care, trauma-informed organizations, policy and advocacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Learn more about each PCI below, and register for HCH2020!
Beyond Diversity: Toward an Antiracist Culture
The national movements both to end homelessness and to reform health care are finally emphasizing racial justice. This begins with confronting that racism is endemic to the housing and health care systems that create the inequities providers see in homeless services every day, and that colorblind programs will only continue to favor white people. A framework for resisting racism in organizations, many promote the concept “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” These terms are helpful but insufficient as they too often focus merely on diversifying personnel. In this context, this Pre-Conference Institute will focus on practical strategies to move beyond diversification toward meaningfully challenging racism in the workplace. Coupling presentations by experienced HCH peers with roundtable discussions with attendees, this session will dwell little on theory or history, but rather focus on strategy for dismantling institutional racism. Only so much can be accomplished in one day, but we hope it will contribute to progress.
Trauma-Informed Health Care for the Homeless Programs and the Road to Organizational Resilience
For the past three years Council staff facilitated a learning collaborative to support organizations in becoming a trauma-informed organization. The learning collaborative, consisting of health centers and other programs serving people experiencing homelessness, developed tools and processes for organizational change that can be replicated across different program types. During this daylong training, speakers from the collaborative will share their experiences, including how they assessed their programs and addressed barriers in implementing system-wide change. Speakers will also describe in detail available resources including the Council’s change road map, assessment tool, change package, and toolkit. The second half of the training advances the conversation to specific issues: leadership and culture shift, managing staff trauma, trauma-informed supervision, screening and assessment, and trauma-informed primary care.
Medical Respite Care: Quality & Equity in Action
Medical respite programs provide a necessary service for individuals experiencing homelessness who need a safe place to heal from injury or illness. Each year, the Respite Care Providers’ Network (RCPN) Steering Committee plans a full-day institute to examine emerging issues in the field of medical respite care. This year’s institute will include separated sessions for participants who are new to medical respite care and those who have worked in medical respite for years. National experts will share best practices and innovative ideas around funding, developing community partnerships, engaging in advocacy, and diversity and equity in medical respite care. Additionally, the group will engage in interactive discussion on harm reduction and managing substance use, palliative care, and responding to chronic health issues beyond the scope of your medical respite program. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in information sharing and networking with providers from across the country.
Advocacy 101 for the Revolution: Keeping Focused and Energized in Challenging Times
Feel passionate about justice but also frustrated by the current political environment? Want to get more involved in advocacy but feel unsure of what to do? Want to change the system but feel like one person couldn’t possibly make a difference? This advocacy 101 training is designed for those who are new to advocacy or want to refresh skills, regardless of your position in your organization. Those who care about justice and want to better understand the current policy environment (including engagement in the 2020 elections) will benefit from this event. Come learn how your organization can be an advocacy champion, how you can make a difference as an individual private citizen, and how you can team up with others to create more impact. This training will teach you how the legislative process works, when and where to advocate, how to meet with your state/local legislators and deliver effective testimony at public events, how to get public attention to issues, and how to support Consumer Advisory Boards (CABs) and/or individual consumers in advocacy. Designed to be a practical application of grassroots organizing and advocacy strategies, this training will prepare you to fight for justice, keep focus, prevent burnout, and remain energized. Everyone can play a role to eradicate ongoing injustice and endemic poverty in our communities.