'IF I DIDN'T HAVE THIS, I'D PROBABLY BE DEAD'

SOUTHLAKE, SHELTER TEAM UP TO HELP HOMELESS PATIENTS

By the age of 10, Shaun Baker was an addict.

By 13, he was dealing drugs, including crack cocaine, which he continued for years as he worked as a roofer.

Among his brushes with the law, he was arrested for selling acid in King Township.

Now 45 with a Grade 8 education, Baker has seriously neglected his health over years.

Last summer, he had his left leg amputated at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie due to complications from diabetes. Now, using a wheelchair, he continues to fight an infection in his right leg.

Over the winter, while living in a motel north of Newmarket, where he was selling drugs, he was rushed by ambulance to Southlake Regional Health Centre suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition.

At Southlake, Baker was connected with In-reach, an innovative program between Southlake and Blue Door Shelters that supports patients with no fixed address. It needs a funding source to continue beyond this year.

In-reach worker Shaelynn Rakovski supported Baker in hospital, arranged his admittance to the Inn From the Cold shelter in Newmarket, is assisting him get into LOFT Community Services' adult complex care housing and arranging followup medical care.

Providing clients with no fixed address with a wide variety of wraparound care services while they are in Southlake and after discharge is crucial, both for the person's welfare and to save health-care dollars in the long run, said Rakovski, a social worker.

Baker, who is on disability benefits and has stopped dealing drugs, said In-reach is helping him turn his life around.

"If I didn't have this, I'd probably be dead," he said.

"I have hope. I have want. And I have willpower. As long as I keep going with that, I should be OK, right?"

To be eligible for Inreach, a client is either experiencing homelessness, without a safe place to go after discharge from Southlake or their housing is at risk due to their hospital stay, as busy shelters can't keep their bed vacant until they get out of hospital.

The program provides: • One-to-one support to clients experiencing homelessness to develop a system of supports and determine available housing and discharge options

• Support with housing, financial and community

partner applications

• Support and advocacy for clients in navigating community supports and services

• Assistance with access to emergency housing, seasonal programs or palliative care

• Co-ordination with

Southlake to support discharges of people experiencing homelessness

• Support with transportation and other essential needs of clients experiencing homelessness, as required

Since it began in 2021, the program has helped 52

people access appropriate housing, including emergency, transitional, housing with supports, and reconnection to family and friends. Rakovski has supported more than 200 patients with supports and referrals, according to Alex Cheng, Blue Door's director of programs.

Initially a small pilot project funded by the Region of York's social services relief fund that ran in the fall of 2021, the program grew the following year, thanks to TD Canada Trust's TD Ready Commitment program, which is providing $433,743 over three years for In-reach as well as a part-time nurse at Blue Door's health hub.

However, the funding for In-reach ends this December and ends for the health hub at the end of 2024.

Blue Door is actively seeking funding to continue the programs when TD'S funding is finished.

Cheng calls In-reach a "great example of collaboration" between Blue Door and a hospital to support people with no fixed address.

In-reach is the first time Blue Door has partnered with Southlake to deliver such a program, he said.

"There are other programs that have collaborated with hospitals, but I am not aware of one that does it in this manner," he added.

In-reach is available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To access the program, call or text 905-716-9720 or email at shaelynn.r@bluedoor.ca.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We felt it was important to explore the innovative In-reach program, especially as Blue Door Shelters seeks funding to keep the initiative going beyond the end of this year.