Gadsden, Alabama
Housing Authority: Greater Gadsden Housing Authority
Health Center: Quality of Life Health Centers
The Quality of Life Health Center’s (QOLHC) leadership worked with the leadership of the Greater Gadsden Housing Authority (GGHA) to open a primary health care program for public housing residents. GGHA leased facilities to QOLHC and helped identify new residents for outreach purposes. The lease agreement between GGHA and QOLHC outlined the purpose of the relationship, defined the roles and responsibilities of each party, identified the selected services provided in the donated space, and clarified the communication and reporting requirements. Primary care sites were located in two areas designed to service residents of seven housing developments and persons living within a one-mile radius of these developments. The Project called “ProCare” focused on family health care through education and counseling, preventative care, and promotion of healthy living practices.
QOLHC had access to resident contact information provided by GGHA, which helped them to reach residents at point of entry and inform them about available programs and services. Residents received one-on-one health education on site from QOLHC staff that was committed to the health and well-being of residents. The staff was aware of the many barriers patients faced and worked hard to reduce barriers to services.
QOLHC has repositioned their staff in order to better serve the public housing residents. They have a primary care specialist at the center, as well as an onsite manager that has direct supervision of the services provided at the housing development and who communicates on a regular basis with the housing authority. They also have two outreach employees dedicated to organize events or overseeing outreach in the community and two volunteer Resident Presidents that support all programming. These staff work to improve and expand resident engagement and increase QOLHS presence in the public housing communities. Dedicated staff allocation is a testament to the commitment they have to the residents and is a part of their shared vision.
Whenever possible, they also try to leverage existing community services for their residents rather than seek funding for new programs and services. Their strategy has been to identify organizations that specialize in a specific program, like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and make space available to them at the housing development site, rather than develop duplicative services.The QOLHS and GGHA partnership is successful because there is a shared vision, their community presence is consistent, and they are committed to the residents. They conduct a quarterly needs assessment and adapt services and service delivery to residents, changing issues. They meet quarterly to discuss the assessment data, evaluate all of the programs, and consider any suggestions from residents on new programs.
For more information on this partnership, go to Health and Housing Partnerships report.