Street Outreach Team meets people experiencing homelessness where they are – whether that is on street corners, or a park bench, or under the Key Bridge. Street Outreach engaging over 350 unique individuals each year, building rapport and connecting individuals to essential services and housing. The street outreach team includes a psychiatrist, Dr. Koshes, and general practitioner, Dr. Jafari. They establish therapeutic relationships and complete SSI and SSDI paperwork for guests. Dr. Jafari, GMC’s internal medicine doctor, screens for diabetes and heart disease and refers guests to indigent care clinics.
Hypothermia Outreach Team (HOT)
GMC partners with Georgetown University’s Center for Social Justice to create a volunteer hypothermia outreach team (HOT). These volunteers made up of students, faculty, and staff, do street outreach on behalf of GMC on the coldest nights to check on those unwilling to go to shelters. They let people know about what warming sites are available, distribute cold-weather accessories, and check for signs and symptoms of hypothermia.
Saving Lives Through Street Outreach
Often, we encounter the same individuals week after week during our street outreach rounds. We always stop to say hello and ask if they need anything from us, and often the most service-resistant individuals will always dismiss us. “No, I’m fine. I don’t need anything.” Still, we persist week after week and become a familiar face and trusted source for help.
Mickey was a man we encountered every week sitting outside of the same store in Georgetown. We’d always say hello and ask if he needed anything, but he’d always say no, and we’d move on.
One day when we were walking with Dr. Crosland, our general practitioner, Mickey switched his answer from no to yes. He wanted us to check his blood pressure, which we found out was alarmingly high. Mickey let us call an ambulance for him, and we later found out that he was suffering from a heart attack. Mickey stayed in the hospital for several days before being discharged.
This is why we continue to do street outreach week after week and talk to people, even if they always tell us they don’t need help. One day, they might, and we want to be there for them when they do.
