Ability Housing receives $150,000 grant from Florida Blue Foundation Jacksonville, FL – December 28, 2015 – Ability Housing has received a $150,000 grant from the Florida Blue Foundation. The grant will support The Solution That Saves, a statewide pilot led by Ability Housing which will provide Florida-specific data on the impacts of providing permanent supportive housing to high utilizers of crisis services. Specifically, the pilot will evaluate the health and quality of life impacts on the individuals served as well as the utilization of publicly funded systems of care.
“This grant from the Florida Blue Foundation is a significant boon to The Solution That Saves,” said Shannon Nazworth, Executive Director of Ability Housing. “It is being leveraged with several other sources to fund a three-year state pilot that will provide critical data necessary to inform state policy. The Solution That Saves could result in significant systems changes that will enable more people to exit homelessness and others to live independently within the community.”
The Solution That Saves will serve an estimated 70-90 adults who have very low incomes; suffer from chronic behavioral and/or physical health conditions; are high utilizers of crisis health services in Duval County, Florida; and are experiencing chronic homelessness, in persistent housing crises, or are unnecessarily housed in institutional settings.
Pilot participants will receive access to stable housing, adequate healthcare and obtainment of public benefits (like Social Security and Medicaid), along with case management services and transportation to access care. Because of their access to affordable and non-traditional health services, the individuals served will be able to avoid preventable hospitalizations; reduce their utilization of emergency room and crisis services; maintain stable housing; and increase their level of engagement with the broader community. The grant was one of six to community-based health nonprofits totaling $1.5 million from the Florida Blue Foundation.
The grants will fund innovative ideas, programs and best practice models for new health solutions to help underserved, multicultural populations across Florida.