News

Connecting the homeless to local resources

Published on October 16, 2015

illustration of handsIn fall 2014, Jessica Larson (MHA/MPH ’14) completed her practicum with the Johnson County Local Homeless Coordinating Board. She facilitated Project Homeless Connect and Stand Down in Iowa City, an event to connect homeless veterans, individuals, and families to local resources and free services on site (see news story).

Larson, who currently is an administrative fellow with Providence Health & Services, System Office, in Renton, Wash., answered a few questions about her experience.

What did your practicum involve?

I facilitated Project Homeless Connect and Stand Down, an event to connect homeless veterans, individuals, and families with needed resources. I essentially acted as project manager ensuring that everything was in place to run smoothly the day of the event. I worked with a dedicated committee of individuals to identify groups that should be present, services we could provide, a location, and other important logistical details.

I also spent a good portion of time in ­­­­community outreach activities to spread the word about the event, solicit donations, and get volunteers to help. In addition to event planning, I spent a few hours volunteering with some of the individual organizations who had members on the board, such as the Crisis Center of Johnson County, so I could get an idea of the different services each organization provides to the community. After the event, I put together a toolkit to guide others in facilitating a similar event in the future.

Was homelessness an issue you were always interested in?

A colleague in my MHA program (Phil Wirtjes) approached me and another dual MHA/MPH student (Dominica Rehbein) about our thoughts on facilitating a resource fair for homeless individuals in Iowa City based on a similar event he had seen in Minnesota. Dominica and I were eager to be involved and she eventually made a connection with a colleague that led to my practicum and the realization of the event.

A portrait of Jessica Larson of the University of Iowa College of Public Health.
Jessica Larson

My personal interest in the issue is related to another issue I am passionate about: substance abuse. Having seen firsthand the terrible impact of substance abuse not only on the individual using but on families, I am very interested in improving community health by better integrating chemical dependency services into our health care delivery system. This is a primary reason for my decision to go back to school and pursue a dual degree in health care administration and public health, so that I can understand both the social determinants of health and how the delivery system can be better designed to improve community health by making impact outside the walls of hospitals.

What were one or two of the main takeaways about homelessness that you gained from your practicum experience?

The key takeaway from my experience is that the faces of homelessness are extremely diverse and people affected come from many different backgrounds. It’s not just people on the streets; there are families in cars or sleeping on couches and floors with other families in small apartments. It is a diverse problem, and so we need to take a comprehensive approach to solving it that deeply depends on collaboration and aligning efforts throughout our communities.

Are you currently involved in any work or volunteer activities with homelessness?

I am staying connected to the issue and hoping to make an impact at work. I am currently involved in a project that is exploring care delivery models that can better serve complex patient populations, including homeless individuals.

Additionally, I am developing collaborative relationships between managers in our behavioral health and chemical dependency services and our Community Partnerships leaders to explore community-based approaches and best practices to having an impact on priority issues such as homelessness and substance abuse.