On Monday, September 30, Heading Home’s CEO Dennis Plummer, ABQ StreetConnect Director Jodie Jepson, and Sergeant Pete Silva of the Albuquerque Police Department appeared on the KRQE Morning Show. In this interview segment, the team discussed Heading Home’s accomplishments in the pilot year of our prioritized street outreach program, ABQ StreetConnect (ABQSC).
Click here to watch the interview!
Dennis, Jodie and Sgt. Silva speak to the effectiveness of our data-driven, prioritized approach to outreach. This interview also presented an opportunity for our team to correct unfortunate misconceptions about homelessness, such as those experiencing homelessness “don’t want to try.” Jodie points out that this program serves a specific sub-population, and that 100% of the clients we serve through ABQSC experience some sort of behavioral health issue.
Heading Home developed ABQSC in August 2017 to provide intensive, individualized, housing-focused service navigation to individuals with mental illness experiencing chronic homelessness. ABQSC specifically recruits those with the highest records of utilization of emergency services and medical care in downtown Albuquerque. The mission of ABQSC is to house and support this population for whom traditional outreach methods have not succeeded.
The 2017-18 pilot assessment revealed a 47% post-engagement decrease in EMS Dispatches and a 47% post-engagement decrease in Emergency Room visits. Click here to read the complete ABQ StreetConnect Initial Outcomes Analysis, published in Spring 2019.
