UPMC Health Plan was an early adopter of supportive housing programs and under the UPMC Center for Social Impact has expanded the ways in which they support member-centric and community-based housing supports. These efforts are bundled under the name Homeward. See Andrea's story and Marcus's story to hear more about how Homeward programming changes lives.
Our Cultivating Health for Success (CHFS) program connects our members in need of housing with the support they need while wrapping around services to enable access to physical and behavioral health care. UPMC Health Plan has operated CHFS in Allegheny County since 2010. This collaboration amongst UPMC Health Plan, Community Human Services, and Allegheny County Department of Human Services Continuum of Care (DHS CoC) braids available housing subsidies with Community Based Organization (CBO) expertise and case management to find, secure, and maintain permanent housing options for high need, medically and behaviorally complex members. It is among the longest standing and one of few proven models for improving health and lowering cost for homeless members over a long-term period. CHFS continues to demonstrate quality improvement and lower costs; additionally, we also are expanding geographically to test the scalability of this innovative housing program. We expanded to Lawrence County and Blair County in 2021, and continue to explore expansion to new counties.
Of note:
- Recent analysis has shown that CHFS had a gross total cost of care avoidance of over $1 million for 86 members during their time post-housing. Most importantly, over 20% of these members housed have successfully transitioned to fully independent living.
- CHFS housed 41 members in 2023 and graduated 24 others. Forty-six individuals are currently enrolled in two counties.
Learn more about Homeward
Accelerating Investments in Health Communities (AIHC)
In 2018, UPMC was selected by the Center for Community Investment as an innovative healthcare leader with regards to making housing investments. As part of this grant, UPMC Center for Social Impact has been a crucial facilitator in the development of two major affordable housing initiatives in Pittsburgh. Through the Accelerating Investment in Health Communities initiative, UPMC Health Plan continues to seek innovative ways to contribute to the preservation and creation of affordable housing in our communities. To that end, UPMC Health Plan is seeking partners to spur investment in essential affordable housing. We invite partners to join us in working to preserve existing affordable housing options and supporting supplemental new construction in opportunity neighborhoods. Together, we can prevent displacement and create vibrant communities.
- In late 2021, UPMC for You invested $3M in the $9.4M AHLP fund. This investment has supported the creation or preservation of 498 units, 353 of which are affordable.
- The AHLP was a catalytic part of over $130M in development, lowering the cost of credit for mission-minded developers.
Learn more about AIHC
Housing Through Cooperative Investments
A key component of making housing more affordable within Pittsburgh is maintaining and updating existing units to ensure their continued livability. Together with the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, UPMC for You has created the Preserve Affordability Pittsburgh (PAP) loan pool. This second fund seeks to preserve 1,200 units of affordable housing in Pittsburgh neighborhoods throughout the next decade by lending capital to developers focused on creating or retaining affordable properties.