Community Support Services

Your health story is more than the doctor’s office

Your health is shaped in the places where you spend most of your time—home, workplace, school—and depends on the resources you have access to, like:

• Healthy foods
• Reliable transportation
• Community services
• Access to education
• Employment opportunities
• Access to childcare
• Peer support

To effectively manage your health conditions and maintain a healthy lifestyle, you may need access to these basic resources.

How CHPW can help you meet essential needs

The Community Support Services team connects you with programs and services in your community to help with your everyday needs.

Our team consists of specialists in housing, wellness and recovery, general health, and community-based services. They support you in improving your health and well-being. If you need assistance and aren’t sure where to turn, call the Community Support Services team at 1-866-418-7006.

Basic needs

Anything that you need to live your everyday life counts as a basic need. Basic needs can include food, clothing, personal care items, and utilities. If you’re having trouble getting your basic needs met, the Community Support Services team can connect you to organizations in your community like food banks or shelters.

We can also help you with applications and follow-up. For example, let’s say you call CHPW because you’re having difficulty affording food:

• A staff member can assist you in applying for the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP).
• They can also follow up on the progress of the application.

Forms and paperwork can be confusing and frustrating, and knowing that someone is with you through the process can make things easier.

Transportation

CHPW assists our members with getting safe, reliable transportation to and from medical appointments. We connect members to transportation services in your area, and can even arrange rides for you. Learn more about free rides to medical appointments.*

If you need transportation for reasons other than getting to your medical appointments, we can connect you with transportation vouchers and other services. We can support your public transit fares or resources for gas money and offer other services to help you travel affordably on your own schedule.

Housing

We provide support for those facing a housing crisis or who have concerns about their housing situation. Searching for affordable housing can be complicated, and we’re here to talk you through your options, which can include:

• Emergency housing
• Shelters
• Low-income housing
• Transitional housing
• Senior housing

We can assist you with any housing applications you may need to complete, including Section 8 applications and follow-up calls. We can also help you locate resources to help with rent, utility payments, repairs, and accommodations for your home (ex: grab bar installation).

If you are in danger of being evicted, we can connect you to eviction prevention resources and help answer your questions.

If you need assistance and aren’t sure where to turn, call the Community Support Services Program at 1-866-418-7006 or contact Sara Warner, Community Support Services Manager.

*The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) covers transportation for individuals who otherwise have no means to access medical care.