Julia Gaines serves the National Health Care for the Homeless Council as the Senior Medical Respite Manager for California, focusing on technical assistance for the development of medical respite (aka. recuperative care) programs across the state. She has produced numerous trainings, events and resources for the Council’s groundbreaking initiative, The National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC).

As the co-facilitator of the L.A. Recuperative Care Learning Network, Julia promotes collaboration between CalAIM recuperative care providers, hospitals and health plans to improve the delivery of recuperative care services in Los Angeles. She manages several other recuperative care projects for NIMRC that support continuity of care for the unhoused in L.A.

As a person who has experienced homelessness as a result of drug addiction, Julia, now eight years in recovery, is fiercely dedicated to accessible, quality medical services and social supports for the most vulnerable in the unhoused community: the disabled and older adults. For the past five years, Julia has been the senior manager for the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) Recuperative Care program in Petaluma, CA. She has managed supportive services for numerous Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) programs and served on the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition’s Strategic Planning Committee.

Prior to her work in human services, Julia achieved her Master of Arts degree in Journalism with honors from the University of Westminster in London and worked for 10 years as an editor for numerous newspaper and magazine publications.