Los Angeles-based UCLA Health's Homeless Healthcare Collaborative has been awarded $25.3 million in a two-year state grant for medical and behavioral healthcare for homeless individuals, West Side Today reported March 8.
The funds will be used to hire new staff, including community health workers, obtain new equipment and implement records management and communication systems to connect staff with homeless people.
The grant comes from the California Department of Health Care Services and is part of the state's CalAIM effort to improve Medi-Cal, its version of Medicaid.
The UCLA Health Homeless Healthcare Collaborative began in 2022 with two mobile health vans that travel the city providing care for the homeless. The program made contact with 6,000 homeless individuals in 2022 and plans to deploy four additional vans soon.