IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i19p6845-d1248940.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bridge Healing: A Pilot Project of a New Model to Prevent Repeat “Social Admit” Visits to the Emergency Department and Help Break the Cycle of Homelessness in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Robrigado

    (Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada)

  • Igor Zorić

    (Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada)

  • David A. Sleet

    (Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Bizzell US, New Carrollton, MD 20785, USA)

  • Louis Hugo Francescutti

    (Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada)

Abstract

Homelessness continues to be a pervasive public health problem throughout Canada. Hospital Emergency Departments (EDs) and inpatient wards have become a source of temporary care and shelter for homeless patients. Upon leaving the hospital, homeless patients are not more equipped than before to find permanent housing. The Bridge Healing program in Edmonton, Alberta, has emerged as a novel approach to addressing homelessness by providing transitional housing for those relying on repeated visits to the ED. This paper describes the three essential components to the Bridge Healing model: partnership between the ED and a Housing First community organization; facility design based on The Eden Alternative™ principles; and grassroots community funding. This paper, in conjunction with the current pilot project of the Bridge Healing facilities, serves as a proof of concept for the model and can inform transitional housing approaches in other communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Robrigado & Igor Zorić & David A. Sleet & Louis Hugo Francescutti, 2023. "Bridge Healing: A Pilot Project of a New Model to Prevent Repeat “Social Admit” Visits to the Emergency Department and Help Break the Cycle of Homelessness in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(19), pages 1-9, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:19:p:6845-:d:1248940
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/19/6845/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/19/6845/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David A. Sleet & Louis Hugo Francescutti, 2021. "Homelessness and Public Health: A Focus on Strategies and Solutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-6, November.
    2. Anson Wong & Jerry Chen & Renée Dicipulo & Danielle Weiss & David A. Sleet & Louis Hugo Francescutti, 2020. "Combatting Homelessness in Canada: Applying Lessons Learned from Six Tiny Villages to the Edmonton Bridge Healing Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nayara Gonçalves Barbosa & Hellen Aparecida de Azevedo Pereira & Marcelo Vinicius Domingos Rodrigues dos Santos & Lise Maria Carvalho Mendes & Flávia Azevedo Gomes-Sponholz & Juliana Cristina dos Sant, 2023. "Assisting Homeless Women in a City in Brazil during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Context of a Street Outreach Office: The Perceptions of Health Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-10, January.
    2. Chris O'Leary & Ligia Teixeira & Esther Coren & Zsolt Kiss & Anton Roberts & Harry Amitage, 2022. "PROTOCOL: The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for reducing problematic substance use, improving mental health, and improving housing stability for adults experiencing homelessness: A syste," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), December.
    3. Chris O'Leary & Anton Roberts & Ligia Teixeira & Esther Coren, 2022. "PROTOCOL: The experiences of adults experiencing homelessness when accessing and using psychosocial interventions: A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), December.
    4. Renato M. Liboro & Sherry Bell & Jason Flatt & Jennifer Pharr & Brandon Ranuschio & Lianne Barnes & Andrea Navarro & Alexander Ribeiro & Nadia Sheik-Yosef & John M. Waldron, 2024. "Lifetime Experiences of Housing Insecurity among Gay Men Living with HIV at Midlife: An Exploratory Study Utilizing a Social Determinants of Health Perspective," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, August.
    5. Chris O'Leary & Rob Ralphs & Jennifer Stevenson & Andrew Smith & Jordan Harrison & Zsolt Kiss & Harry Armitage, 2024. "The effectiveness of abstinence‐based and harm reduction‐based interventions in reducing problematic substance use in adults who are experiencing homelessness in high income countries: A systematic re," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), June.
    6. David A. Sleet & Louis Hugo Francescutti, 2021. "Homelessness and Public Health: A Focus on Strategies and Solutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-6, November.
    7. John P. Allegrante & David A. Sleet, 2021. "Investing in Public Health Infrastructure to Address the Complexities of Homelessness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-8, August.
    8. Chris O'Leary & Rob Ralphs & Jennifer Stevenson & Andrew Smith & Jordan Harrison & Zsolt Kiss, 2022. "PROTOCOL: The effectiveness of abstinence‐based and harm reduction‐based interventions in reducing problematic substance use in adults who are experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage homelessnes," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), September.
    9. Emily J. Tetzlaff & Farah Mourad & Nicholas Goulet & Melissa Gorman & Rachel Siblock & Sean A. Kidd & Mariya Bezgrebelna & Glen P. Kenny, 2024. "“ Death Is a Possibility for Those without Shelter ”: A Thematic Analysis of News Coverage on Homelessness and the 2021 Heat Dome in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-15, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:19:p:6845-:d:1248940. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.