Program areas at 4th Second
4th Second provides homelessness services that support whole person care and assist folks to climb up the ladder of housing stability whether from curbside communities or through the development of affordable housing. From March 2022, 35 participants were served, 33 participants were provided with active care plans, linkages were provided to substance abuse treatment, and medical care was offered weekly through 4th Second's street outreach team, Vallejo Mobile Health. 22 program participants were transitioned to stable housing, 15 provided with referrals to Behavioral Health, 2 to Dental and Vision, 33 to Housing and Basic Needs, 4 to income assistance, 3 to transportation assistance, 12 to Substance Use Treatment.
4th Second's Youth Empowerment Program seeks to address trauma, support resilience, and provide opportunities for all youth. In 2022, 4th Second undertook community outreach and partnership development to establish a cohort of 41 underserved youth to pilot a basic income and resiliency building program to prevent substance abuse among low income BIPOC youth ages 12-25. Youth attended twice monthly sessions where they learned stress reduction and coping mechanisms, human centered design to address the need for safe spaces in their community, and financial literacy. Youth were provided with basic income stipends to address the traumas of economic insecurity and poverty. 41 Youth participated in workshops that covered human-centered design, empathy, addressing stress, and factors of resilience. Of the 31 participants that responded to mid-program surveys 97% of participants reported that their mental health was positively impacted by the program. Further, 97% of participants reported that their sense of economic security improved as a result of the program, with 80% reporting a B grade or higher on self-graded financial literacy with 100% participants reporting a C or higher, 80% reporting saving for emergencies and future needs, and 87% reporting feeling secure in their current financial situation. All services were supported by the in-kind donation of volunteers including leadership by 4th Second's President including strategic planning, curriculum design, content delivery and research and evaluation. The value of these in-kind professional services is estimated to be $100,000.
Vallejo Mobile Health(VMH) seeks to reduce the burden of disease and improve wellness of people experiencing homelessness in Vallejo by bringing medical care directly to people with mobile outreach and trusting, reliable relationships with medical practitioners. In the last year, VMH cared for 102 separate individuals via expanded street outreach services over the year with 272 separate encounters. Care was provided monthly street outreach events in conjunction with other local service providers. Examples of services provided include: acute wound care, blood pressure checks, COVID testing and vaccination, chronic disease management, mental health care, and substance abuse counseling. We were able to offer COVID tests as needed as well as during set outreach hours weekly throughout the year. For the year, VMH was able to give 150 COVID vaccines. 50% of these patients have Hypertension, 16% have diagnosed diabetes, and 30% have asthma or COPD. All patients seen with Diabetes were given diabetes education and glucometer teaching. Further the team prescribed medications to 75% of our Diabetic patients to prevent time without glucose control, which potentially circumvents Emergency room use for Diabetic crisis. Providers coordinated with local service providers to connect patients directly with long-term substance use treatment, mental health care, and primary care providers. In addition, providers coordinated with case management and housing navigation to help medically certify patients for disability benefits. Care was provided through in-kind donations of time by VMH's medical director, a family medicine physician, working in partnership with other local providers and overseeing local medical professional students. VMH's medical director donated approximately 10 hours per week to direct care and service coordination. Based on an average fee of $150/hour, this equates to approximately $78,000 of in-kind donations.
4th Second expanded its Uphousing Program to include community development activities to support community serving projects that address food insecurity, health care access and recuperative care, shelter and affordable housing. Predevelopment activities included environmental investigations of sites, community engagement in the design process, and coordination between partners and the City of Vallejo. These activities supported the development of a successful Project Homekey application for 47 units of permanent supportive housing, and the development of preliminary planning applications for a recuperative care facility, and a mixed use project including a grocery and affordable housing in a low income low food access census tract. The in-kind donation of the President's time to conduct these activities is estimated at $25,000.