Who We Are
Our Mission:
Street Outreach Teams is dedicated to meeting people where they are, to provide free medical care, to advocate for respect and dignity, and to train others to do the same.
Our Vision
To promote the excellent practice of street medicine in our community and around the globe with person-centered care.
- Deliver care directly to unsheltered patients wherever they may live.
- Earn their trust.
- Get them into a clinic.
- Get them into housing.
The core values stem from an approach that:
- Is person-centered.
- Is reality-based.
- Is grounded in unconditional respect.
- Uses medicine and nursing as an instrument of peace.
- Uses medicine and nursing as a tool of advocacy.
The following principles guide our program’s individual and collective work with unsheltered people:
- Do no harm.
- Practice good medicine.
- Use a multidisciplinary team approach.
- Show compassion, grace and humility.
- Instill hope.
- Address tri-morbidity.
- Build trust with consistency, reliability and healthy boundaries.
- Communicate in a direct manner.
- Act with patience and persistence.
- Never give up on anyone.
*Taken from Venice Street Medicine Curriculum
What We Do
Many patients have trouble accessing conventional healthcare and/or prefer not to engage with the healthcare system because of previous adverse experiences. We aim to “meet people where they are at” and provide compassionate, non-judgmental care to people who have limited access to healthcare and other resources. Our target populations are rough-sleeping homeless and human trafficking victims. Through this, we see street homeless, unstably housed, sex trafficking victims, and individuals who use drugs.
For us, outreach is consistent, person-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally relevant.
- Building Trust
- Essential supplies: shelter in place items, hygiene kits, food, gear, survival supplies, harm reduction kits, etc.
- Listening ear
- Trauma informed counseling and chaplaincy services
- Care Coordination
- Coordination of housing facilitated with multiple housing agencies who are on street runs
- General Health Screening
- Medical evaluation & screening
- Medical and Essential Services
- Coordination of Chronic Disease Management
- Hypertension, Diabetes, HIV, etc.
- Medication Management
- Over the counter and prescription medication
- Wound Care
- Basic Dental Care
- Portable Diagnostics
- Ultrasound, EKG, Glucose testing
- Rapid HIV, Syphilis, pregnancy testing
- Ability to do limited labs/blood draws on street
- Braces, slings, compression socks, DME
- Coordination of Chronic Disease Management
- Education & Counseling
- Motivational interviewing
- Facilitated by an addiction specialist and/or counselor
- Chaplaincy Care
- As requested
- Advocacy & Crisis Intervention
- CISM as needed
- Access to SANE nurses and forensic team
- Provide information about medical conditions & healthcare systems
- Health Care Enrollment Navigator services
- Motivational interviewing
*some taken from Miami Street Medicine
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