Healthcare Access and Equity for Youth and Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness

Grantee: Harborview Medical Center:
Timeframe: July 2024 – June 2025 | Amount: $200,000

This project will allow Harborview Medical Center to enhance its medical provider presence and introduce new substance abuse and mental health services at two shelter-based clinics serving a diverse and marginalized population of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.

Homeless youth and young adults face unique challenges in navigating the healthcare system. The stress of daily struggles for food, shelter, and safety significantly impacts their physical and mental well-being. Accessing appropriate healthcare is particularly difficult due to barriers such as transportation, clinic hours, and locations, as well as language and cultural obstacles. Many homeless youth also feel unwelcome in traditional clinics, which exacerbates their mistrust of the healthcare system.

Despite these barriers, there is a pressing need for healthcare services among homeless youth, who often face significant early adversities and health concerns. Addressing their medical and mental health needs is essential for their stabilization and successful re-engagement with education or employment.

Harborview Medical Center’s Youth Clinic has a longstanding commitment to serving homeless youth and young adults, with clinics strategically located near shelters and congregating areas. The center has continuously sought feedback through focus groups, comment cards, and surveys to improve its services.

In response to patient needs, Harborview has expanded its services to shelter locations such as ROOTS Young Adult Shelter and YMCA in South King County. These clinics provide basic primary and acute care, longer appointment times, and coordinated care to reduce barriers and emergency department visits.

Current funding limits clinic visits, affecting engagement and follow-up. To address this, Harborview plans to increase provider presence and expand services, including behavioral health counseling, at these sites. Leveraging its partnership with Harborview, the clinics will also offer access to electronic health records, financial counseling, laboratory testing, and subspecialty consultations.

By enhancing provider presence and expanding services, Harborview aims to establish consistent and supportive care models, fostering reliable connections with trusted practitioners. This approach, grounded in trauma-informed and harm reduction principles, addresses the complex needs of homeless youth and aims to reduce health disparities within a primary care setting. Ultimately, Harborview seeks to increase the number of staff onsite regularly to better support the healthcare needs of homeless youth and young adults.

ABOUT OUR GRANTEE

Harborview Medical Center

“Harborview Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare facility dedicated to providing specialized care for a broad spectrum of patients from throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the most vulnerable residents of King County.

The UW Medicine physicians, staff and other healthcare professionals based at Harborview provide exemplary patient care in leading-edge centers of emphasis, including emergency medicine, trauma and burn care; neurosciences, ophthalmology, vascular surgery, HIV/AIDS and rehabilitation medicine.

Patients given priority for care include the non-English speaking poor; the uninsured or underinsured, victims of domestic violence or sexual assault; people incarcerated in King County’s jails; people with mental illness or substance abuse problems, particularly those treated involuntarily; people with sexually transmitted diseases; and those who require specialized emergency, trauma or burn care.

Harborview Medical Center is owned by King County, governed by a county-appointed board of trustees and managed under contract by the University of Washington. The medical center plans and coordinates with Public Health Seattle and King County, other County agencies, community providers, and area hospitals, to provide programs and services.”