MEDIA
KJZZ Radio
Unaffordable: Another Way Home
posted by Madison Mulvihill - Mar 29, 2022
The issues around unaffordable housing have increased for low-income and homeless populations as home prices continue to rise, and waiting lists for shelters grow longer. However, many individuals in the homeless population face challenges that go beyond finding available housing units. In this episode, learn about some of the barriers and solutions for folks trying to get back on their feet and into a place of their own.
iHEART RADIO
New service called Elaine .. helps homeless get medical services
posted by Marty Manning - Jan 25, 2019
Elaine
Imagine being homeless and suffering from medical issues that needed immediate attention. How do you get to the doctor? If you are released from a medical facility how do you get to a place where you can get services you need? And what if you can't even figure out for yourself what services you do need?
These are just a few of the questions our homeless population must deal with, and now there is a new service designed to help, called Elaine .. named for a homeless woman who lost her life on the streets of Phoenix. Elaine will provide transportation, medical navigation, assistance in filling prescriptions, and connecting individuals with partner organizations providing additional resources such as food, shelter, and employment.
Elaine is the brainchild of President and Founder Vivienne Gellert, who saw the need while working as a hospital scribe as an ASU student. I spoke with her and Human Services Campus Board Chairman Mike McQuaid for our Valley View Public Affairs program. Give it a listen and feel free to find out more and maybe make a donation (!) at https://elaineaz.org/
KJZZ- NPR
This New Organization Helps Homeless People Get To The Services They Need
If you’ve ever been in the hospital, you know how important it is to have someone there to pick you up and take you home. But what if you didn’t have a home to go to? And there was no one to take you there?
For people experiencing homelessness, when they are released from the hospital, they’re often released back to the street. And, without a way to get to follow-up appointments or into a place where they can rest and recuperate, their health often deteriorates again.
That is why Vivienne Gellert is launching a new transportation service for the homeless this week. It’s called Elaine and it will provide transportation for people experiencing homelessness between hospitals, doctors appointments and the human service organizations they depend upon.
Gellert realized the need for a service like this when she was working as a scribe in two inner-city hospitals here, and decided to forgo medical school to make it a reality.
The service launched on Monday and The Show spoke with her more about it.