Annual Convenings

Since 2011, the Consortium has held an annual Health & Housing Convening of its members and partners. The Convening brings together stakeholders across healthcare, housing, social service, and government sectors to share ideas about recent developments and best practices within the healthcare and housing realms. Discussion at the Convening helps determine the initiatives that will drive the Consortium’s work for the upcoming year. 

14th Annual Convening
October 23, 2024

Please join us for our 14th Annual Convening on October 23, 2024! We are excited to convene in person at NYU Langone Health - Tisch Hospital for a once-a-year opportunity to hear from a diverse group of leaders and practitioners about critical issues at the intersections of housing, homelessness, healthcare, and immigration.

Tickets include access to the full event, including breakfast, lunch, and a networking happy hour.

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Schedule

9am - Breakfast

9:30am - Convening Kick Off

10am - Keynote Address: Jeanmarie Evelly - Executive Editor, City Limits

10:45am - Break

11am - Innovations in Action: Promising Approaches to Tackling Persistent Challenges in Housing + Healthcare

Amid persistent challenges at the intersection of housing and healthcare, innovative solutions are emerging across New York City. From unique partnerships to peer-led networks that amplify the voices of those with lived experience, panelists will present case studies of successful models that are making a difference. Attendees will discover new approaches that can be scaled and replicated, offering new insight and practical solutions for driving systemic change in housing and healthcare.

Featuring:

  • Moderator: Marjorie Momplaisir-Ellis - Senior Director, NYC Health + Hospitals 

  • Elizabeth Powers - Assistant Program Director, Healthcare Initiatives, Breaking Ground

  • Cynthia English - Speaker, NYU Health x Housing Lab Speakers Bureau

  • Maya Hernandez - Founder & Director, Doulas en Español

  • Robin Kahan-Berman, EdM, OTR/L - Vice President of Occupational Therapy, Project Renewal

12:30pm - Lunch

1:30pm - Best Practices and Opportunities for Safe Hospital Discharge to Shelter, Respite, and Supportive Housing

Navigating safe and effective hospital discharges for individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability presents ongoing challenges in New York City. In this panel, we will delve into these challenges and explore strategies and collaborative approaches to improve coordination between hospitals, shelters, and supportive housing programs. Panelists will share real-world examples of partnerships and interventions that have led to successful patient transitions, brainstorm what more is needed for effective coordination, and discuss how stronger discharge planning can lead to better health and housing outcomes.

Featuring:

  • Moderator: Flávio Casoy, MD, DFAPA - Medical Director, Acute Hospital Care, Community Transitions, and Managed Care - NYS Office of Mental Health

  • Shauna Barry, LCSW - Director of Clinical Learning and Development, BronxWorks

  • Amanda Ramsdell, MD - Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine

  • Dwight Kemp, MD, MS - Unit Chief, Extended Care Unit, NYC Health + Hospitals

  • Alric Nembhard - Lived Expertise Advocate/Consultant, NYU Health x Housing Lab Speakers Bureau

  • Nirah Johnson, LCSW - Director of Special Populations, NYC Department of Homeless Services

3pm - Break

3:15pm - Policy Update: Checking in on New York’s Medicaid 1115 Waiver and the Role of Social Care Networks

New York's Medicaid 1115 Waiver offers a unique opportunity to reimagine healthcare by addressing the social determinants of health, including housing. Join us for an in-depth look at how the waiver is shaping healthcare delivery and the emerging role of social care networks in improving health equity across the state. We will hear an overview and updates on the Medicaid 1115 waiver from the NYS Department of Health, followed by a panel with all three New York City Social Care Networks, and plenty of time for Q&A. We will examine how these networks can bridge gaps in care and promote housing stability for Medicaid recipients and discuss opportunities for community based organizations to get involved in this evolving landscape of healthcare policy in New York.

Featuring:

  • Moderator: Kristina Ramos-Callan - Senior Consultant, Health Management Associates

  • Emily Engel - Bureau Director, New York State Department of Health

  • Zachariah Hennessey - Chief Strategy Officer & EVP, WholeYouNYC, Public Health Solutions

  • Lidia Virgil - Chief Operating Officer, SOMOS

  • Joseph Conte - Executive Director, Staten Island Performing Provider System

  • Kathy Miller - Chief Operating Officer, Bronx RHIO

4:45pm - Closing Remarks

5pm - Networking Happy Hour

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Pricing

Direct Service Worker: $80 (member price: $60**)
Standard Ticket: $120 (member price: $90**)

The Consortium is committed to making this event as accessible as possible. Direct service workers, including care coordinators, case managers, community health workers, housing specialists, and peer specialists, are eligible for a reduced ticket rate.

**If you are a member of the Consortium or employed by one of the Consortium's member organizations, please make sure to register/log in to receive member ticket pricing. Not sure if your organization is a member? Check here: https://healthandhousingconsortium.org/membership/

Thank you to our sponsors!

This event would not be possible without your support.

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Champion Sponsors

Lamb Insurance Services
NYU Langone

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Supporter Sponsors

Spring Bank
BronxWorks
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
RiverSpring Living
Comunilife
Healthy Heart Food
​RiseBoro Community Partners

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Friend Sponsors

CSH
The Supportive Housing Network of New York
West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
Coordinated Behavioral Care
Geel Community Services
CAMBA
CGMR Housing Equity Project

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Learn more here. 

Previous Convenings

13th Annual Convening

Agenda

Welcome from Consortium Executive Director, Bonnie Mohan

Opening Remarks from Council Member Sandy Nurse, District 37

Building Sustainable Communities: Community Land Trusts as Catalysts for Healthy Homes

  • Sandra Lobo, Executive Director – Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition

Welcoming the Newest New Yorkers: Moving Beyond an Emergency Response

  • Deysi Flores, Civil Rights and Immigration Lead Organizer – Make the Road NY

  • Max Hadler, Director of Policy and Immigrant Initiatives, Health Care Access and Policy Unit, Bureau of Equitable Health Systems – New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

  • Josh Goldfein, Staff Attorney – Legal Aid Society

  • Moderator: R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine Center for Early Childhood Health & Development – NYU Langone Health

Thinking Outside the Box to Address the Human Services Workforce Crisis

  • Michelle Jackson, Executive Director – Human Services Council

  • Mark Jennings, Executive Director – Project FIND

  • Arielle Kandell, Executive Director – New Women New Yorkers

  • Diane Louard-Michel, Executive Director – Lantern Community Services

  • Moderator: Bonnie Mohan, Executive Director – The Health & Housing Consortium

From Peers to Policy: Understanding New York's Mental Health Plans

  • Dr. Ann M. Sullivan, Commissioner – NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH)

  • Deepa Avula, Executive Deputy Commissioner – NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)

  • Sheina Banatte, Advocate – Correct Crisis Intervention Today (CCIT-NYC)

  • Ann-Marie Louison, Chief Impact Officer – CASES 

  • Moderator: Patricia Hernandez, Director, Metro NY, NJ & PA — Corporation for Supportive Housing

Closing Remarks

  • Pascale Leone, Executive Director – Supportive Housing Network of New York; Vice President – Consortium Board of Directors

12th Annual Convening

The Health & Housing Consortium’s 12th Annual Convening took place virtually on December 14-15, 2022 and brought in over 160 professionals across more than 60 organizations. The Convening highlighted citywide and statewide policies and practices that aim to combat the homelessness crisis, foster cross-sector collaboration between healthcare and housing services, and address the immediate and long-term care needs for migrants and new arrivals in New York City. Through four sessions, the Convening featured 12 distinguished speakers that included government officials, city agency representatives, medical and social services providers, community organizers, and an advocate with lived experience of homelessness.

Special thank you to our sponsors, which made it possible for us to allow frontline and essential workers to attend the Convening for free: Lamb Insurance Services, CSH, Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus, BronxWorks, Mutual of America, Spring Bank, 163rd Street Improvement Council, Comunilife, Enterprise Community Partners, and CAMBA.

Agenda

Day 1: December 14, 2022, 2–5pm

2022 Highlights for the Consortia + Presentation of the 3rd Annual Joe Fund Award

  • Bonnie Mohan, Executive Director – The Health & Housing Consortium, Inc.

  • Amy L. Freeman, PhD, MPH, Director – Brooklyn Health & Housing Consortium; Research Assistant Professor – Dept. of Population Health, NYU School of Medicine

Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness

  • Jessica Katz, Chief Housing Officer – City of New York

  • Moderator: Michelle de la Uz,Executive Director – Fifth Avenue Committee, Neighbors Helping Neighbors

New York State Medicaid 1115 Waiver Proposal: Partnerships to Address Health Disparities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Emily Engel, Director of Bureau of Social Care and Community Supports – New York State Department of Health

  • Moderator: Marcella Maguire, Director of Health Systems Integration – CSH

Day 2: December 15, 2022, 2–4:30pm

Migrant Rights are Human Rights: Coordinating Support for NYC Asylum Seekers

  • Opening Remarks: Luba Cortés – Make the Road NY

  • Dr. Fabienne Laraque, Medical Director – New York City Department of Homeless Services

  • Chris Keely, Ambulatory Care Chief Operating Officer – NYC Health + Hospitals

  • Max Hadler, Director of Policy and Immigrant Initiatives, Health Care Access and Policy Unit, Bureau of Equitable Health Systems – New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

  • Alfredo Matthews, Senior Vice President of Transitional Housing – Acacia Network Housing

  • Dr. Jessica Sessions, Medical Director – Ramon Velez Medical Center

  • Moderator: Sarah Oltmans, Chief of Grant Strategy – Robin Hood Foundation

Keynote Address: Everyone’s Homeless (During a Zombie Apocalypse) + Closing Remarks

  • M.A. Dennis (short for Many Attitudes of Dennis) has been called “the poet laureate for formerly homeless & undomiciled individuals.” He uses the written and spoken word to advocate, educate, and share his lived experience, in order to amplify the voice of the voiceless and document the correlation between housing and mental health. 

  • Pascale Leone, Executive Director – Supportive Housing Network of New York; Vice President – Consortium Board of Directors