Congratulations to Our HCH2021 Award Winners
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is proud to recognize the five winners of our 2021 awards for outstanding achievement and leadership in the movement to improve homeless health care and end homelessness.
Learn more about the honorees and watch their videos below.
Philip W. Brickner National Leadership Award
Rhonda Hauff, Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, Yakima, WA
Rhonda Hauff is the Chief Executive Officer of Yakima Neighborhood Health Services and has been with YNHS since 1983. She oversees all nine YNHS primary care sites and one mobile medical clinic. YNHS also provides medical respite care, transitional and permanent housing, and related homeless services. YNHS is the largest homeless service provider in Yakima County, serving over 3,221 homeless patients, with an additional 2,500 clients in housing and homeless prevention programs.
Rhonda is a board member of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council; past chair of the National Association of Community Health Centers’ (NACHC) Health Care for the Homeless Committee and Health Care in Public Housing Task Force; and a respite provider network leader. At NACHC, she has been on both the Health Care for the Homeless Committee and the Health Care in Public Housing Task Force since 2008. She has been the chair of the Public Housing Task Force for the past six years and was a vice chair for four years before moving to the chair position.
Karen Rotondo Award for Outstanding Service
Honora Mayfield, Coastal Family Health Center, Biloxi, MS
The 2021 Karen Rotondo Award for Outstanding Service winner is Honora Mayfield, Health Care for the Homeless Case Manager at Coastal Family Health Center in Biloxi, MS. Known as a committed advocate who delivers the highest quality care for her clients, a colleague describes Honora as, “a go-getter, a team player, and an expert problem solver. She handles intense, stressful, crisis situations with gusto and charm. Her creativity, ingenuity, and clinical savvy are unmatched.”
In addition to her daily work helping clients overcome barriers to care and developing partnerships to increase access to services along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Honora has been a leader in the Ending Youth Homelessness Initiative and provides field instruction to future members of the HCH workforce. A client says that Honora Mayfield “gives the hopeless hope.”
Ellen Dailey Consumer Advocate Award
Chioke Perry, Mercy Care, Atlanta, GA
Chioke Perry is the chair of Mercy Care’s Client Advisory Council (CAC) and has served in this capacity for the last four years. He has created a safe place where the CAC readily shares their experiences with services received by Mercy Care and actively works toward improvements. Chioke is steadfast in his determination to reach those whom he encounters where they are and guide them to the next step. He is present in the early morning hours and late evening hours to walk someone through the process of gaining shelter, medical treatment, substance abuse treatment, and more.
Chioke volunteers with the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda during their voter registration drive and brings his knowledge to voter registration booths at various Mercy Care functions. He is also passionate about transportation and has participated on committees aimed at transportation services for people experiencing homelessness. According to his nominator, “Chioke willingly shares his story and each time I hear his story I am more convinced that he was led by God to Mercy Care.”
Willie J. Mackey National Medical Respite Award
Andre Harris, Homeward Bound of Marin – Transition to Wellness Medical Respite Program, Novato, CA
In a unique collaboration with local hospitals, Ritter Center, and other social service providers, Homeward Bound of Marin has created three medical respite rooms with two hospital beds in each room so homeless adults can recover their health in a safe environment. Services include nursing supervision, case management, and access to support from Homeward Bound.
From Andre Harris’s nominator: “As a small community with three local hospitals, Andre fields daily calls from medical social workers and nurses, assessing needs and managing both the available beds and the expectations of the hospitals. Over the years, Andre, a steady fixture of our medical respite, has worked with hundreds of hospital personnel and created respectful working relationships everywhere. He has balanced all of this while working compassionately and effectively with the patients who are discharged to his care. Andre is a problem solver and an inspirer of hope. He is an unsung, steady hero among all essential workers.”
John N. Lozier Scholarship for New Members
Molly Pringle, Portland Street Medicine, Portland, OR
Molly Pringle is currently the executive director of Portland Street Medicine, based out of Oregon. For over a decade, Molly has been passionately engaging the public health issues of equity, access, and community voice. Her professional roles have included working as a birth doula, a hospice companion, and an advocate supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Across these experiences, she has created pathways for those with lived experiences to engage as experts and decision-makers in shaping and providing social services. Molly holds a Master’s in Public Health with a focus on participatory approaches to program evaluation and improvement. Street medicine is new to Molly, and she’s excited to continue envisioning and realizing collaborative efforts that bring communities into thriving.