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.
2022 Health & Housing Convening
Please join us for our 12th Annual Convening on Wednesday, December 14th and Thursday, December 15th. This two-day virtual conference will bring together professionals across the health care, housing, homeless and social services sectors, along with government partners, to showcase work at the intersections of housing, homelessness, healthcare, and immigration, and to discuss opportunities to collectively support people with unmet health and housing needs in New York City and beyond.
Early Bird pricing is available until November 30th. Purchase your ticket today!
Day 1: December 14, 2022, 2–5pm
- 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
- Jessica Katz, Chief Housing Officer – City of New York
- Moderator: Michelle de la Uz,Executive Director – Fifth Avenue Committee, Neighbors Helping Neighbors
- 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
- Dr. Fabienne Laraque, Medical Director – New York City Department of Homeless Services
- 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
- Moderator: Sarah Oltmans, Chief of Grant Strategy – Robin Hood Foundation
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. Mr. Dennis’ artistry examines social justice issues, which affect marginalized communities and his work has been described as “emotion-filled, energetic and forward-thinking.” Mr. Dennis is a published author and his editorial “When I Was Homeless” appeared in the Daily News. He resides in Staten Island, NY and can be found on Twitter (@M_A_Dennis) or contacted at m.a.dennis575@gmail.com.
2021 Health & Housing Convening
We are so grateful to our speakers, panelists, and attendees for making the Consortium’s Annual Convening such a success. Over the two days, we had 295 attendees representing 130 different organizations! If you weren’t able to attend the full Convening, we encourage you to watch the recordings below. You can read our speakers’ full bios and access a compilation of materials and resources that were shared in each session of the Convening.
Day 1: December 7, 2021
Speakers & materials
Speakers:
- 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
Winner of the 2nd Annual Joe Fund Award: Wale Adegbenle, Director of Aging Services – Breaking Ground
panelists & materials
- Sebrina Barrett, JD, Executive Director – Association for Community Living (ACL)
- Marvin Cooper, Program Director – Geel Community Services
- Claire Green-Forde, DSW, LCSW, Executive Director – National Association of Social Workers-NYC
- Michelle Jackson, JD, Executive Director – Human Services Council
- Rev. Cassandra Perry, M.Div, MBA, Executive Director – 163rd Street Improvement Council
- Moderator: Bonnie Mohan, Executive Director – The Health & Housing Consortium
Materials:
- Bring It Home Campaign: Better Funding for Better Care – Call for increased financial support of New York’s mental health housing programs, funded by the van Ameringen Foundation and the Association for Community Living Agencies in Mental Health (ACLAIMH).
- #JustPay Campaign: Fighting to End Government-Sanctioned Poverty Wages for Human Services Workers – Call to implement changes around inequitable pay among human services workers.
- Women In the Workplace 2021 Report – the largest study on the state of women in corporate America based on data from 423 companies employing 12 million people.
- CUNY Report: Social Work and Human Services Degree Programs at the City University of New York – prepared by the CUNY Task Force on the Behavioral Health Workforce, June 2017.
panelists & Materials
- Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO – NYC Health + Hospitals
- Tony Carino, MD, Director of Psychiatry – Janian Medical Care
- Tamara Gayle, LMSW, Program Director – BronxWorks
- Evelyn Graham-Nyaasi, Advocacy Specialist – Community Access
- Moderator: Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer – Fountain House
Materials:
- New York City Health + Hospitals Street Health Outreach and Wellness (SHOW) Mobile Units – provides COVID-19 tests and vaccinations, wound care, basic material necessities, and harm reduction services to New Yorkers who are unsheltered.
- CCIT-NYC (Correct Crisis Intervention Today) – coalition of activists, community and nonprofit members, and other advocates working to transform how New York City responds to the 200,000+ mental health crisis calls now responded to by the NYPD. CCIT-NYC seeks a peer-led health team response to these crisis calls.
- New York City B-HEARD (Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division) – 2021 pilot program in which teams of mental health professionals – including EMTs/paramedics and mental health professionals – respond to 911 mental health calls, beginning in Harlem. FAQ here.
- WorkerConnect – data integration system across NYC agencies that provides access to case file data for caseworkers and managers in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Day 2: December 8, 2021
Speaker & materials
Speaker: Daryl McGraw, Founder, Formerly Inc
Q&A Moderated by Rev. Sharon White-Harrigan, Executive Director, Women’s Community Justice Association (WCJA)
Materials:
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Post-Traumatic Slave Syndome (PTSS) by Dr. Joy DeGruy – theoretical framework that explains the etiology of many of the adaptive survival behaviors in African American communities throughout the United States and the Diaspora.
- Follow Daryl McGraw on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and soon TikTok. For questions, email daryl.formerlyinc@gmail.com.
panelists & materials
As pressure to close the jails on Rikers Island continues due to ongoing safety concerns, now is the time to plan for the future to ensure people leaving incarceration, and those with criminal justice histories, have appropriate support and access to health care and housing in their communities. Our expert panelists work with justice-involved populations in various settings and capacities and spoke to the unique challenges their clients face, made recommendations for what we could be doing better, and shared how they are advocating to end stigma and barriers.
- Anna DeLeon, Associate Vice President of Housing – Fortune Society
- Christina Green, Director, NYC Health Justice Network – NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Jerome Green, Community Health Worker, PORT (Point of Reentry and Transition) Practice – Kings County Hospital
- Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, Chief of Housing Community Activities – New York City Housing Authority
- Moderator: Darren Mack, Advocate and Activist – Urban Justice Center
Materials:
Speaker & materials
Speaker: Brett Friedman, Esq., NYS Medicaid Director, New York State Department of Health
Q&A Moderated by Jim Mutton, Director of NYC Operations for Concern for Independent Living and Consortium Board Secretary
Materials:
- PowerPoint Presentation
- 1115 Medicaid Waiver Demonstration Conceptual Framework: A Federal-State Partnership to Address Health Disparities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic – NYS Department of Health, Office of Health Insurance Programs, August 2021
- Summary: What You Need to Know About the New York Medicaid Waiver Proposal and Concept Paper, by COPE Health Solutions
- Health Affairs: A Strategic Vision for Medicaid and The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
- Supportive Services Transformation Fund Campaign by CSH
Past Convening Materials
2020 Convening
Sessions:
- Introducing the Brooklyn Consortium and 10 Years of the Bronx Consortium PPT Presentation | Recording
- Remarks from NY State Senator Zellnor Myrie Recording
- Keynote by Peggy Bailey, CBPP: Centering Racial Equity in Health & Housing Partnerships PPT Presentation | Recording
- Participatory Action Research on Health and Housing in Brooklyn PPT Presentation | Recording
- Panel 1: Building Partnerships Between Hospitals & Street Homeless Outreach PPT Presentation | Recording
- Panel 2: Caring for Older Adults During COVID-19 & Keeping Them at Home PPT Presentation | Recording
- Panel 3: Lessons From COVID-19 Isolation Hotels PPT Presentation | Recording
- Closing Remarks by Consortium Board Member Pascale Leone PPT Presentation | Recording
2018 Convening
2019 Convening
2017 Convening
Presentations: