Mission House joins forces with Dispensary of Hope

The Mission House Clinic has announced a new partnership with the Dispensary of Hope, a nonprofit organization that helps provide medication to low-income patients.

Announced on Tuesday, this partnership will solidify Mission House’s ability to continue to provide free pharmaceuticals to their clients who lack access to medication coverage and live who below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

For Mission House’s chronically ill patients, access to free medication is often their first step to recovery and self-sufficient lives. These clients’ ability to receive monitored and much-needed medication helps them gain control over, and often ameliorates, their health issues, allowing them to stay out of the healthcare system for avoidable reasons.

“We are thrilled to enter this partnership with Dispensary of Hope. The collaboration is an amazing opportunity for Mission House and the uninsured patients we serve, said Nancy Crain, physician assistant for Mission House. “The partnership will expand our formulary and allow us to provide even more medications to the patients who are ill or are suffering from chronic disease,”

The Dispensary of Hope is a nonprofit organization that collects and distributes pharmaceuticals to pharmacies and safety-net clinics, which then dispense the medications to low income, chronically ill patients. Through partnerships such as the one with Mission House, pharmacies and clinics nationwide can utilize Dispensary of Hope medication to impact the health of their communities by improving access to affordable medication.

As the cornerstone of population health initiatives, the Dispensary of Hope program is key to reducing avoidable hospital readmissions and emergency room use that often results from a lack of access to affordable medication.

“We are grateful to partner with Mission House Clinic to help strengthen medication access to low income and uninsured in the Jacksonville area,” said Dispensary of Hope COO, Josh Kravitz. “Their work with the homeless is inspiring and by providing them with much needed medication to treat common health conditions allows their community to be healthier."

Learn more about Dispensary of Hope at DispensaryofHope.org.

Mission House is the only day facility in Jacksonville Beach to help meet the needs of the homeless through compassion, faith, and programs designed to provide assistance at an individual level. The agency’s top priority is to help people who are homeless get off the streets and back to productive, self-sufficient lives.

To get involved or for more information, go to MissionHousejax.org.

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A Meaningful Partnership Provides Hope for Jacksonville’s Neighbors in Need with Free Medicine

(Jacksonville, FL): The Mission House Clinic is pleased to announce its recent partnership with the Dispensary of Hope. This partnership will solidify Mission House’s ability to continue to provide free pharmaceuticals to their clients who lack access to medication coverage and live who below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.

For Mission House’s chronically ill patients, access to free medication is often their first step to recovery and self-sufficient lives. These clients’ ability to receive monitored and much-needed medication helps them gain control over, and often ameliorates, their health issues, allowing them to stay out of the healthcare system for avoidable reasons.

“We are thrilled to enter this partnership with Dispensary of Hope. The collaboration is an amazing opportunity for Mission House and the uninsured patients we serve. The partnership will expand our formulary and allow us to provide even more medications to the patients who are ill or are suffering from chronic disease,” stated Nancy Crain, Mission House’s Physician Assistant.

About Dispensary of Hope

The Dispensary of Hope is a nonprofit organization that collects and distributes pharmaceuticals to pharmacies and safety-net clinics to dispense to low income, chronically ill patients.  Through partnerships, pharmacies and clinics nationwide can utilize Dispensary of Hope medication to impact the health of their communities by improving access to affordable medication.

As the cornerstone of population health initiatives, the Dispensary of Hope program is key to reducing avoidable hospital readmissions and emergency room use that often results from a lack of access to affordable medication. Learn more by visiting: www.dispensaryofhope.org

About Mission House

Mission House is the only day facility in Jacksonville Beach to help meet the needs of people who are homeless through compassion, faith, and programs designed to provide assistance at an individual level. Mission House’s number one goal is to help people who are homeless off of the streets and back to productive, self-sufficient lives.

Anyone who is interested in getting involved or learning more about Mission House can visit their website at www.missionhousejax.org.

From Homeless to Hopeful - Mission House Provides Hope for Those in Need Through their Rapid Re-Housing Program

Mission House’s Rapid Re-Housing program, located in Jacksonville Beach, FL, is a program based on the ‘housing first’ concept that helps individuals experiencing homelessness to obtain housing quickly, by providing financial assistance for moving expenses. The ‘housing first’ concept prioritizes a safe, stable living environment for individuals who are homeless, so that other aspects such as, mental health, education, or financial improvement can be addressed once the person is stably housed.

Mission House saw the need for its Rapid Re-Housing program in the program’s ability to aggressively address the homelessness crisis in Jacksonville, Florida, without the long waiting lists, stringent requirements, and strict financial measurements that often serve as barriers to housing.

“Many individuals are unaware of the services that are available to them in the Jacksonville community,” commented Natalie Collier, Mission House’s Case Management Coordinator.  She continues, “Rapid Re-Housing provides a way for veterans and other individuals experiencing homelessness in the Jacksonville Beaches area to access emergency funds required to obtain and maintain housing.”

Homes for the Homeless

The Rapid Re-Housing program is based primarily on the pace of Mission House’s individual clients. When a client is enrolled in Mission House’s Meals and Showers program, they are eligible for six months of services -- Case Management services included. During this time, if the client does not have income, Case Managers will work them to determine ways they can obtain or increase their income, often by assisting with Social Security benefit applications and coordinating job search opportunities.

When a client feels ready to move into permanent housing, the client is able to work with a Case Manager to identify potential housing units, with Case Managers able to provide housing lists, if needed.

Once a housing unit has been selected by the client, the client must be approved for tenancy by the landlord or property manager. If approved for tenancy, the client can then submit a request to Mission House for housing financial assistance. Case Managers review the requests with the client to determine both the client’s and Mission House’s contribution to the move-in costs. If there are any costs not covered, the Case Manager may often advocate for additional assistance from Mission House’s various community partners.

Once the move-in costs are paid and a lease is signed, the client is then transferred from the Mission House Meals and Showers program to Mission House’s Case Management Follow-Up program. The Follow-Up program consists of the Case Management Coordinator completing monthly follow-ups by phone or in person, for the next 12 months, to ensure that the client is able to access and utilize any available resources or referrals needed to maintain housing.

What is Mission House, Jacksonville?

Mission House is the only day facility to help meet the needs of people who are homeless at the Beaches through compassion, faith, and programs designed to provide assistance at an individual level. “Today, Mission House’s number one goal is to assist people who are homeless off the streets of the Beach and back to productive, self-sufficient lives,” stated Mission House’s Executive Director, Lori Anderson. She continues, “Anyone who is interested in getting involved with Mission House can visit our website at missionhousejax.org or give us a call at (904) 241-6767 to receive general information regarding donations and volunteering.”

Homeless don't just need help at holidays

Mission House aims to get homeless on their feet year-round

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. - Mission House on Shetter Avenue is the only day facility helping the homeless from Mayport to Ponte Vedra Beach. 

It provides free lunch and dinner seven days a week, as well as a place to cool off, take a shower and get a change of clothes. 

Lori Anderson, executive director of Mission House, said they are seeing about 30 percent more people who need their help, which means between 60 and 80 people. 

Anderson said she noticed an uptick after hotel vouchers given out following Hurricane Irma expired.

The goal of Mission House is to house people and find them a job. 

"We're very proud of the work our crew did last year, we were able to get 94 men and women into housing and some type of income for them with a staff of 12. That's pretty amazing," Anderson said.

There are currently no other shelters in the beaches area, and Anderson said shelters in general are something organizations try to stay away from. 

"We are kind of moving away from the shelter model, and the reason being is that if you give a homeless person food and a place to lay their head, then why do they need to get a job and get the right apartment, so housing first is what we do," Anderson said. "It is a lot easier to find a job from your own bed than it is from getting up in the woods."

Mission House wants to remind people that the shelter is not only in need during the holidays, but also during the summer. Supplies get low around this time of year, so they need help to keep up with the demand. 

Some of the items they are asking for are men's boxers, short white ankle socks, reusable water bottles, insect wipes and small shorts in sizes 32 and 34.

Donations can be dropped off at the facility on Shetter Avenue. 

See the full article written by Ashley Spicer here.

Jacksonville Beach Shelter Sees Homeless Increase During Summer

The latest point-in-time count found the number of people living on the streets in Jacksonville is around 400. That’s in the winter.

When the weather turns hot, the number of homeless people who show up there for help goes up another 30 percent or so, according to Lori Anderson, who is the Executive Director of Mission House at Jacksonville Beach.  

“Normally it’s anywhere from 40 to 60, but in the summertime it’s more like 60 to 80. It’s difficult when it gets up to 80 but we do accommodate them,” said Anderson, referring to the number of people using Mission House.

Mission House on Shetter Avenue is a day shelter for homeless adults.  It provides free lunch and dinner seven days a week as well as a place to cool off, take a shower and get a change of clothes.

“Some of the items we’re asking for [are] men’s boxers, short ankle white socks, reusable water bottles—they’re really important right now,” said Anderson.

She added insect repellant wipes are also needed.

Anderson said the shelter has seen a marked decrease in the number of infected bug bites since they started handing them out this summer.

The Sulzbacher Center in downtown Jacksonville is also open whenever the "feels like" temperature hits 100 degrees. 

“We keep water available for them. We have a room inside we call the library, which is air conditioned. And on days of extreme heat, like today, we can allow people to just come in, cool off, get some water, get a meal,” said Eileen Briggs of the Sulzbacher Center.

According to FloridaStorms.org, Jacksonville's heat index was 100 degrees at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

See full article written by Cyd Hoskinson here.