Advocates and Help - So People Don't Suffer on the Street

Both programs are generously funded through CalAIM, part of Medi-Cal.

ECM (ENHANCED CARE MANAGEMENT), OUTREACH PROGRAM

ECM is a new benefit for Medi-Cal members. This benefit helps Medi-Cal Alliance members who have complex needs coordinate their care with the help of ECM Outreach workers.

Mission Merced started providing ECM services in February of 2023 with only two Outreach workers and now we have eight Outreach workers. We are presently serving over 150 people.

ECM outreach workers help participants:

• Find doctors

• Schedule health-related appointments

• Manage medications

• Set up rides to the doctor or pharmacy

• And much more

To get ECM services from Mission Merced, call our office at 209.455.3716 to meet and apply with one of our ECM teams.

Enhanced Care Management Teams: Pat & Rose, Rafa & Cole, Summer & Teresa, and Tammy & Alexis.

Pat Padilla and Rose Guerra are one of the Mission’s five ECM teams. The following stories illustrate what ECM does for Merced County as it strives to help those experiencing homelessness receive the care they need.

A concerned community member contacted the Mission about a man who was cold and sleeping on the sidewalk. He appeared to be ill and in need of a place to recover. Pat and Rose picked him up and transported him to the Mission’s Hope Respite Care. He stayed there where he was able to recover in about three weeks.

Pat and Rose transported another man who was experiencing severe back pain to the hospital where he was able to receive help. Following treatment, Pat and Rose transported him to Hope Respite Care where he could continue to heal and be taken to physical therapy appointments.

Another day, they helped a woman who was struggling with mental health issues. They knew they needed to get her some help, so they took her to Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) for an emergency assessment which determined that she needed to be taken immediately to the Crisis Center. They stayed with her to give her support. After she was taken in by the Crisis Center, they were able to keep in contact with her and talk with her. She is now released and is doing great. She is so very thankful for all the support and the quick response of the ECM team. Pat and Rose still talk often with her and are so glad to see the great turnaround in her life.

CS (COMMUNITY SUPPORT), PROVIDING HOUSING NAVIGATION

In August of 2023, the Mission started the Community Support program, which provides housing navigation. Our CS team of Housing Navigators work with over 80 clients at a time.

CS workers help participants:

• Find permanent housing

• Move into their new home

• Pay for application fees

• Pay for move-in costs

• Purchase basic household items

Our CS Housing Navigators help people who are experiencing homelessness see the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Through love, care, and attention to detail, our CS Housing Navigators bring hope to people who have been hopeless. Through this program, the Mission has been privileged to join in the county-wide collaborative effort to significantly reduce homelessness.

To get CS Housing services with Mission Merced Inc., call our office at 209.455.3716 to meet and apply with one of our Housing Navigators or call Alliance at 800.700.3874.

Marissa and Liberty work as Community Support Housing Navigators. They work with people who have been homeless and who often feel helpless. As they work with people, they not only bring hope to the people they serve, but they also find joy through their serving and feel that doing this job could not be more rewarding.

Together they help many individuals with finding and moving into a home by paying for the application fees, move-in costs, and, with any money left over, basic household needs. One client was feeling down and didn’t have much hope when he came into the office for his intake. He was discouraged because of his situation. After completing his intake and having heard the program explained, he was feeling hopeful again.

Once this client found a place he could afford, the application fees, the deposit, and the first month’s rent were all paid. Then, Marissa and Liberty worked on his wish list of basic household items. He now has a place he can call home. To him, this was like winning the lottery.

Marissa and Liberty feel that seeing their clients’ happiness when they get to move in is more rewarding than they could ever put into words. Getting to watch God open so many doors to help their clients have a bed to sleep in, a table to eat at with dishes to eat on, and a couch on which to sit is amazing. Seeing their clients’ smiles and hearing the excitement in their voices is one of the best paydays anyone could ever receive.