Out of the hospital, back on the street. How will $535K target this problem in Asheville?

ASHEVILLE - A $535,267 grant awarded to Haywood Street Congregation will expand a program that provides support to unhoused individuals who have been discharged from the hospital.

The program, called Haywood Street Respite, works to break a cycle that often ends with repeat visits to emergency rooms or hospital readmissions, an issue exacerbated by those that leave the hospital only to find themselves immediately back on the street.

Haywood Street is one of four organizations to receive more than $500,000 in funding from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, a Nashville-based national nonprofit working "at the nexus of homelessness and health care," according to a Dec. 15 news release from the organization.

More:Respite center will aid homeless after hospitalization

Laura Kirby, executive director of Haywood Street Congregation, told the Citizen Times every medical respite program looks a little different, some connected with homeless shelters, others with a highly clinical focus, but Haywood's "is very much like home."

Instead of being discharged into the waiting arms of friends and family, "they just don't have a home to go to," Kirby said. "So they come stay with us."

What are medical respite programs?

Medical respite programs provide short-term residential care in a safe environment for people experiencing homelessness who no longer have a clinical reason to remain in a hospital but are too ill or frail to recover on the street or shelter, according to the NHCHC release.

Haywood Street has been operating since 2014, ensuring 24-hour access to a bed, three meals a day and transportation to medical appointments and care coordination. The program helps connect people to short term and long term housing solutions, as well as other community-based services.

More:Asheville families experiencing homelessness? More winter shelter options on the way

More:What does reparations mean? 8 months into process, Asheville still finding its way

Kirby said over the last year, Asheville has been no stranger to nationwide trends. Like many localities, she said, Asheville has seen an increase in acuity of substance use and mental health challenges among people experiencing homelessness. Factor in a rising homeless population and barriers to shelter created by COVID, and a greater response was necessary.

Results from Asheville's most recent point-in-time count, now almost a year old, found its highest count yet, identifying 637 people experiencing homelessness, 232 of which were unsheltered.

That is 110 more than the 2021 count, which found 527 people experiencing homelessness in Asheville, of which 116 were unsheltered.

“This partnership will result in better access to high-quality, comprehensive integrated care for patients experiencing homelessness,” Bobby Watts, chief executive officer of NHCHC, said in the release.

Watts said the funding will strengthen the medical respite programs as they determine how to sustain behavioral health services. “It also helps each community meet the needs of its neighbors experiencing homelessness in more comprehensive and equitable ways.”

More:Number of homeless people in Asheville up 21% since 2021, unsheltered number doubles

Operating out of the old Sunday School wing of their building on Haywood Street, Kirby said the respite currently houses nine people at a time, but new funds will allow capacity to increase to 12.

Haywood Street Congregation will use the grant money not only to expand its beds, but to hire a licensed clinical social worker with a specialization in addressing addiction and substance use. In the grant's first year, which begins in January, they will also hire a full-time peer support specialist to help those staying in respite engage in recovery service.

In the second year, Kirby said they intend to add a second peer support specialist.

Over the program's lifetime, Kirby estimates they have had more than 1,200 people stay with them, typically for two to three week stints. Since the pandemic, people's stays have lasted longer, closer to four weeks, as fewer housing and shelter options, and more complex health problems, complicate their stays.

She said they have served approximately 125 people a year, with busier years trending closer to 200.

More:Asheville's Ramada Inn breaks ground on 113 units of permanent supportive housing

More:Haywood Road resurfacing: Residents prioritize bike lanes, crosswalk signals, lower speeds

"We're really excited about it," Kirby said of the grant funding, which offers an opportunity for Haywood Street Congregation to be "creative" in supporting some of the city's most vulnerable populations.

The money was made possible by a $2.9 million grant awarded to NHCHC by the United Health Foundation, the philanthropic foundation of UnitedHealth Group, according to the release. Currently, there are 133 medical respite programs in the U.S.

As well as allocating funds to the four grant recipients, including organizations in Minnesota and Florida, NHCHC identified other goals, such as providing technical assistance and training, creating a peer learning community and sharing best practices.

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.