Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente announced three initiatives to help secure affordable housing across the system's footprint and help end homelessness Jan. 15.
Three things to know:
1. During a press conference Jan. 15, Kaiser Permanente CEO and Chairman Bernard J. Tyson announced the first local impact investment from the health system's $200 million Thriving Communities Fund. The system will use $5.2 million from the fund to buy a 41-unit housing complex in East Oakland, near Kaiser's headquarters. The housing development is part of the system's Housing for Health Fund, a joint-equity fund between Kaiser and the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners. Owners of the housing development will also help residents of the complex obtain the supportive social services they need.
2. Mr. Tyson also announced the creation of a second fund to finance the development and preservation of affordable housing. Kaiser Permanente and Enterprise Community Partners plan to launch a $100 million loan fund to create and preserve rental homes for low-income residents.
3. Working with community partners, Kaiser's third initiative aims to secure housing and other services for 500 particularly vulnerable individuals in Oakland over the age of 50 with at least one chronic health condition.
"Housing security is a crucial health issue for vulnerable populations. Access to affordable housing is a key component to Kaiser Permanente's mission to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve and to advance the economic, social and environmental conditions for health," Mr. Tyson said in a statement.