Homelessness has been set as the first of three Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA) priorities through 2026. HHSA recognizes that meeting the needs of the unhoused community requires the willingness and compassion to serve outside of a traditional brick and mortar service format. Outreach, intervention, and access are listed as one objective for the priority of addressing homelessness, and HHSA continues to take and create opportunities to provide information and access in a client-focused manner.
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 highlighted the need to adjust our services to keep our neighbors safe, stable, and informed using a non-traditional approach. A team of employees spanning the spectrum of county services was designed to serve the specific needs of our unhoused neighbors during the pandemic. The success of the model easily justified making the team a permanent service structure for the unhoused community as the pandemic subsided. Since then, that Community Coordination Team (CCT) has been partnering with organizations across the community to meet neighbors where they are. The 2024 Point-In-Time Report indicates 1,260 people are homeless in Tulare County.
HHSA recognizes that housing instability increases the difficulty for eligibility staff to connect with residents without a permanent address, and that lack of connection impedes the ability of staff to provide clients with important information or updates regarding their Medi-Cal case. Providing a reliable means of information dissemination to unhoused residents ensures they have uninterrupted health care coverage.
Further, lack of access to health care, housing instability and food insecurity are often overlapping experiences. About one fourth of Tulare County residents are currently food insecure. Ensuring the health of Tulare County residents includes access to food resources. Due to the overlapping experiences of food, housing and health insecurity, residents eligible for Medi-Cal coverage are frequently also eligible for food resource support known as the CalFresh program, which also requires connection to clients for case maintenance and preventing service interruption.
Tulare County HHSA is committed to ensuring all residents are connected to the resources that build a healthy and thriving community.
