A recent study involving near a third of Calgary’s chronically homeless population has revealed potential failings of the current healthcare system while outlining possible systemic improvements.
The Calgary Recovery Services Task Force, a collaboration involving more than 20 agencies, revealed the findings of its commissioned report, conducted by the Cumming School of Medicine, on Friday.
Researchers interviewed 300 chronically homeless individuals, comprising a cross-section of the estimated 900 people who are chronically homeless in Calgary, and determined the vast majority had been diagnosed with a physical health concern and roughly half had been diagnosed with a mental health issue.
The study identified the following seven recommendations to deliver better health outcomes for homeless Calgarians:
- Improving access to health services on front lines
- Case management during transition to house
- Recognizing homeless Calgarians’ have a choice in recovery services
- Developing responsive approaches for homeless Indigenous populations
- Creating open communication between agencies and organizations that serve homeless Calgarians
- Developing specialized responses for homeless women and children
- Developing a committee to oversee and provide leadership
“We are doing the best we can as a system, multiple systems working together, but we can do better,“ said Diana Krecsy, CEO of the Calgary Homeless Foundation. .“We have to accept that the people who are homeless are people. They’re not an independent population. They are our brothers, our sisters, our mothers and fathers. We need to bring the services we’re currently delivering and deliver them in a new way.”
Krecsy says the input of homeless Calgarians is a valuable source of information and cannot be disregarded.
“The only experts in homelessness, the true experts, are those who have lived it,” said Krecsy. “We have to listen to them about where they’re going for services and build our systems around that. When we start doing that, and truly listening, we’ll get an efficient, effective system where less people are falling into homelessness, those who are in it our getting the right services and more people are getting out and getting our faster and not coming back.”
To read the full Calgary Recovery Services Task Force Report, click here.
The Calgary Recovery Services Task Force includes the provincial government, Alberta Health Services, the City of Calgary, the Calgary Police Service and non-profit agencies that assist homeless people.
