Health in Housing Team

In BC, Housing is a primary social determinant of health. AHMA’s Health in Housing team works to connect health and housing services so that our members can support Indigenous people in a holistic and meaningful way. 

The Health and Housing Team takes a holistic approach to address members’ clients’ needs. We recognize that strong medical and social support is necessary throughout the healing journey. We focus on creating pathways for AHMA members to facilitate access to safe and supported housing for all clients.

Complex Care Housing

Complex Care Housing (CCH) is the main focus of AHMA’s Health in Housing Team. The CCH Program supports Indigenous people over the age of 19 with severe and persistent mental health and/or substance use challenges. This program uses a person-centred, culturally safe, and trauma-informed approach to embed health services into housing so that clients can build a sustainable foundation to achieve their goals. This program ensures that individuals are safely housed, fed, and medically supported through a strong network of clinical and non-clinical staff.

The Complex Care program is a collaborative funding model supported by two BC Ministries that directly answers the call for appropriate funding for integrated health services. AHMA supports five CCH sites throughout BC, in collaboration with members and Health Authorities in the following locations.

  1. Surrey (Two sites)
  2. Prince George
  3. Victoria
  4. Vernon

Indigenous-specific complex care supports are connected to an individual, not a location, to ensure reach and maintenance of stability. Robust service delivery occurs through Coordinated Access and Assessment, Integrated Coordinated Access Tables, Indigenous Harm Reduction Teams, Intensive Case Management, Assertive Community Treatment Teams, and twenty-four-hour-a-day Fixed Site Teams.

Member Support

At AHMA, we know that each situation is unique and complex, requiring patience, expertise, and teamwork to move forward in a positive way. Indigenous people across BC are often unsupported when facing issues such as homelessness, mental health, and addictions. No person should face these issues alone, and we are here to provide support and connections where possible.

Regardless of the issue, we bring the expertise to move forward while promoting self-agency and working through a lens of cultural safety and harm reduction.

Contact us to learn more about culturally safe pathways that support individuals.