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Established 30 months ago, Sacramento County's Interim Care Program has provided a haven for more than 300 homeless people to heal safely
By Bobby Caina Calvan - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, August 9, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1
Anthony Cummings, 30, recuperates at the Interim Care Program following nearly three weeks of hospitalization after he broke his ankles jumping off a trestle. "It's been awesome. They feed you breakfast, lunch and dinner," he said. And his stay affords him time to think about putting his life back together. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling
The streets were no place for Mike Kostyshyn. Just days after abandoning the relative comfort of a cheap motel, his venture into homelessness was cut short.
He was dehydrated. His joints and muscles ached. He couldn't get up. He couldn't walk.
An ambulance rushed him from his homeless camp at Folsom Lake to the hospital, his body withered from the stresses of a failed marriage, the temporary loss of his children and years of health problems, including diabetes.
He spent four days in the hospital. "I wasn't sure what was going to happen," he said. "I had nowhere to go. I was on my own."
A social worker steered him to the Interim Care Program. The respite program for the region's homeless, established 30 months ago, is funded by Sacramento County and four of the region's biggest hospitals. It gives homeless patients a place to recuperate from injuries and ailments.
For years, advocates for the homeless have accused hospitals of throwing indigent patients out into the street despite the need for additional medical supervision.
The Legislature is considering a bill to penalize hospitals that dump patients without their consent.
Last year, a Kaiser hospital in Los Angeles was condemned for allegedly dumping a woman, still in her hospital gown, at a homeless mission on the city's notorious Skid Row. A videotape captured the incident.
In December 2005, Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe angered Sacramento officials and homeless advocates when it hired a taxi to take a homeless woman to Loaves & Fishes in Sacramento -- 101 miles away.
"This program is an effort to fill the gap that exists, so we don't have people being sent out on the street," when they are still in need of medical care, said Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, a supporter of the Interim Care Program.
Today, the program celebrates 30 months of what officials tout as "healing the homeless."
In that period, more than 300 homeless men and women have been served by the program, which is housed at the Salvation Army's facility on North B Street and staffed by The Effort, a community health clinic in midtown Sacramento.
The facility provides 18 beds, and there is talk of expanding the program, said Kate Tenney, a registered nurse and case manager for Sutter Medical Center. On occasion, some hospitals kept patients longer until beds became available.
Sutter, Kaiser, Mercy and UC Davis health systems contribute $65,000 apiece to fund the program. The county contributes $120,000.
"When you're sick, the standard protocol is that when you're treated, the hospital sends you home to recover," said Petra Stanton with The Effort.
"But when you're homeless, you've got no home to go to. They don't have a home to recuperate," Stanton said.
The street is no place to recover, said Anthony Cummings, 30, who broke both ankles after a misguided decision to jump from a train trestle near Old Sacramento.
He spent nearly three weeks at UC Davis Medical Center before being discharged to the care of the Interim Care Program.
"It's been awesome. They feed you breakfast, lunch and dinner," he said.
More important, it affords him time to think about putting his life back together.
Not only does the program help patients heal, but it also provides them options once they are well enough to leave, said Elizabeth Gutierrez Hudson of the Salvation Army.
Part of the program's mission is to steer patients to permanent housing.
Sherry Stephens, 39, spent two months at the respite program after a hysterectomy. Later, she moved into Quinn Cottages, a transitional housing development near the Salvation Army.
"I don't know what I would have done," said Stephens, who spent months "couch surfing" after a downward spiral. "ICP is wonderful. I've had bad times in my life. It's been tough. Now there's hope."
For Kostyshyn, the road back has been challenging. He regained custody of two of his three young children and now lives at Serna Permanent Supportive Housing.
"It was a big sense of relief," Kostyshyn said, "because I could lie down somewhere, relax for a while and take care of myself."
About the writer:
- The Bee's Bobby Caina Calvan can be reached at (916) 321-1067 or bcalvan@sacbee.com.
Mike Kostyshyn, who was aided by the Interim Care Program, relaxes with daughter Maggie at their North Highlands home. He has regained custody of two of his three children. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling
Judy Harris tells of the swelling in her leg that she says resulted from being beaten in May. Harris is continuing to recuperate at the Interim Care Program after spending a month at the UC Davis Medical Center. The program gives hospitals a place to send indigent patients who still require medical care. Homeless advocates have long accused some hospitals of dumping the homeless onto the streets. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling
Comment: An ICP {Interim Care Program} for the homeless should be a part of the medical services available in every city and town in America. Here is a good example of where money should be spent as opposed to foreign wars of occupation as in Iraqnam. Government services should be based upon their humane efficacy, not mere political expediency. ~Peter S. Lopez, Humane Being
Come Together and Create!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta
Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta
Sacramento, California, Aztlan
Email: sacranative@yahoo.com
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