Pathways to Housing PA's Executive Director, Christine Simiriglia, invited to be a Team Member for TEDMED's influential Great Challenges Program.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Executive Director of Pathways to Housing PA, Chris Simiriglia, has been given the prestigious honor of being invited to be a Team Member for TEDMED's Great Challenges Program. TEDMED is recognized and respected for hosting a unique 3-day event (April 16 – 19, 2013) in Washington, DC, which is the nation's premier gathering for people from inside and outside the world of medicine to connect and inspire new thinking to change our world in health and medicine.

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The mission of TEDMED's Great Challenges Program is not to solve complex healthcare problems. Instead, they propose to provide America and the world with an unbiased and broadly inclusive view of these challenges, incorporating thoughtful, multidisciplinary perspectives. The Great Challenges Program conducts a lively national dialogue on 20 challenges in health and medicine. For each challenge, they have assembled a different Challenge Team and conversations among Challenge Teams will take place through next March on TEDMED.com and during a series of live web-based sessions.

Asked about her invitation to join TEDMED's Great Challenges Team exploring the Impact of Poverty on Health, Mrs. Simiriglia states, "It is such an amazing honor to be included on this TEDMED Great Challenges Team. My team members are all very distinguished leaders in their fields and reflect multi-disciplinary, passionate and thoughtful perspectives on poverty and health issues. In addition, I'm looking forward to engaging the broader TEDMED community in this discussion. I'm hopeful that my years of experience, both working in mental health services and being an advocate for people that are homeless, will truly enhance TEDMED's Great Challenges Program and, more importantly, help to identify a creative way forward for our nation as we work together to mitigate the devastating effects of poverty on health security."

With over 25 years of experience working in the fields of mental health and homeless services, Chris Simiriglia established Pathways to Housing PA in Philadelphia in September of 2008. The organization provides permanent, supportive, scattered site housing for around 300 chronically homeless men and women recovering from severe mental illness, long term alcoholism, co-occurring disorders and a multitude of serious untreated medical conditions. Prior to joining Pathways to Housing PA, Chris worked with the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania for 15 years, leaving the position of Vice President in 2008. In the early 90s, she managed the I Do Care Foundation. Prior to that, she ran the Outreach Coordination Center; was Assistant Director at the City of Philadelphia's Office of Services to the Homeless and Adults; and served as Assistant Director for the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless.

You can participate in TEDMED's Great Challenges Program by posting comments and follow-up questions, engaging in real-time, multi-disciplinary dialog with all members of a Challenge Team, including Mrs. Simiriglia. Everyone's input is encouraged – doctors, scientists, researchers, technology innovators, business and government leaders, patients, legal experts, representatives of the armed forces, and the media. Quite simply, if you have a stake to protect…an idea to contribute…or a cause to promote, join the conversation at TEDMED.com.

About Pathways to Housing PA

Pathways to Housing PA, now in its 4th year of operation in Philadelphia, was founded with the mission to serve people who are chronically homeless, literally living on the streets, and who suffer from severe psychiatric disabilities and substance use disorders. These are the people that are unable or unwilling to engage in traditional mental health, treatment, medical and housing systems. The Pathways to Housing Network believes housing is a basic human right and aspires to change the practice of homeless services by: providing immediate access to permanent independent apartments without preconditions; setting the standard for services driven by consumer choice that support recovery and community integration; and conducting research to find innovative solutions and best practices for those who suffer from homelessness and mental illness. 

The Executive Director of Pathways to Housing PA, Chris Simiriglia, is available for interviews regarding her involvement with TEDMED's Great Challenges Program.

Contact: Aaron Brown, Development Manager 
[email protected] 
(215) 390-1500 ext. 1510 

SOURCE Pathways to Housing