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.
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
The health and human services workforce has been under unprecedented strain throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the challenges facing these sectors and their staff did not begin 18 months ago. For decades, funding for this work has been stagnant, resulting in wages that do match the cost of living. Low wages for high-stress work and rapid burnout has created a crisis that cannot be ignored. We heard from advocates and service providers on the scope of the crisis, how it is impacting staff and the quality of services, ideas for adapting to the changing landscape, and how you can help advocate for respect and appropriate compensation for this essential work.
- 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
New Yorkers experiencing homelessness have higher rates of serious mental illness than their housed counterparts and during times of crisis, often interact with multiple systems, including police, homeless services providers, mental health treatment teams, and hospitals. In this panel, we heard from professionals working with this population––on the street, in shelter, in hospitals, and in the community––and explored how we can improve coordination across systems in order to provide better care, in times of crisis and ongoing.
- 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.
Panelists:
- 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:
