Health Net, one of California’s most experienced Medi-Cal managed care health plans and a Centene Corporation company, has officially awarded a grant worth $1.3 million to the City of Redondo Beach. According to certain reports, the stated grant is expected to go towards the purchase of 25 more housing units for the city’s Pallet Shelter program, which provides temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness while subsequently connecting individuals to case management and wraparound services that assist with permanent housing opportunities. Beyond that, the grant will also support the implementation of an Alternative Crisis Response (ARC) pilot program. Talk about what this program does, it basically provides wraparound services for an individual’s physical and behavioral health, including trauma-informed care, crisis de-escalation services, in-person intervention and transportation to behavioral health services for the unhoused population of Redondo Beach. Going back to the pallet homes, they happen to be 64-square-foot residences equipped with heating, air conditioning and electricity. Furthermore, they have on-site restrooms, showers and 24-hour security. As for the ARC program, service providers here will respond to non-violent mental and behavioral health service calls. All in all, assuming the entire program is executed just as envisioned, it will likely set the stage for an expansion into other California regions who could benefit from the approach.
“Mental health care is a critical area of need for a significant number of people who are homeless, and therefore we can’t meaningfully address homelessness without vastly improving our public mental health system,” said Redondo Beach City Attorney Michael Webb. “We are so appreciative that Health Net has stepped up to make such an important investment in providing needed mental health services which will greatly improve the lives of those who will benefit from these additional services.”
The grant in question delivers a rather interesting follow-up to Health Net’s ongoing commitment to addressing homelessness throughout Los Angeles County. You see, since 2023 alone, the company has invested more than $39 million in grants to bring shelter, medical care and behavioral health services to the unhoused to improve health outcomes for the unhoused in California. To expand upon these cash injections, they include a $34 million grant awarded to the County Executive Office – Homeless Initiative to support unit acquisition and activities of daily living expansion to get and keep people housed. Next up, there was the $1.5 million grant awarded to Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Street Medicine program to enable street medicine workforces across the state to better serve people who are unsheltered. Joining the same was a $136,000 grant to the CA Street Medicine Collaborative which was supplied in order to ensure optimal sustainability and expansion of its work in regards to supporting the ongoing growth of street medicine statewide. Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in Health Net’s pledge to offer housing transition navigation services, housing deposits and housing tenancy and sustaining services, something it did so as a key partner in the state’s implementation of California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal and Community Supports.
Apart from that, the new grant even arrives as a part of Centene’s commitment to advance health equity and address drivers of health (DOH) such as access to affordable and stable housing. An example of the same would be how, back in May, the organization announced a $900 million multiyear partnership with McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS) to construct new affordable housing communities in eight states. In essence, the stated partnership will address the critical lack of affordable housing impacting many economically vulnerable populations for whom Centene provides vital healthcare services.
“We are excited to partner with Health Net to provide a mobile mental health response in collaboration with our public safety and homeless outreach teams. This service is essential in getting people the relevant care they need, at the time they need it,” said Paige Kaluderovic, a Council Member at Redondo Beach.