Taking the Streets

Just when I'm trying to wind down for the night, often Fresh Air on NPR from 10-11pm will derail me. Tonight, I heard the 'street doc' on Fresh Air and I was inspired. Jim Withers, an internal medicine physician in Philadelphia, started practicing medicine on the street in 1992, dressed as a homeless person accompanied by a formerly homeless assistant. His work grew into Operation Safety Net, hosting an international conference on street medicine this year.

Withers said he decided to start his project after reading 52 Ways to Help the Homeless (the cover has a hearty endorsement from jimmy carter).

Highlights of the interview

Withers started a wall with names of the homeless who had died in Philadelphia, to remember them and also to make a political statement. He wanted the plaque to go on the sidewalk in the places where people had died, but found that it was illegal. He negotiated with the city and eventually found a spot.

He said that homeless people are often the victims of attack, not from other homeless, but from non-homeless.

In places like Bangalore, he said the line between homeless and non-homeless is not as clearly drawn as it is here. He said that the stigma of homelessness is akin to leprosy in India. In Europe, access to health services means a smaller homeless population.

It's getting cold here in Chicago.

We need healthcare for everyone in the United States!

Note: you can read policy recommendations for 2008 from the national coalition for the homeless here.

One of the most interesting:

Enact the Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act. The Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act (H.R. 2216) compels law enforcement authorities to monitor incidents of crimes against people experiencing homelessness. Since 1999 there have been 774 documented acts of violence against homeless persons, including 217 deaths. 2006 saw a 65 percent increase in the number of hate crimes over the prior year. Incidents have included: setting a man on fire, pushing a sleeping woman into a river, and pummeling a woman’s face with a tire-iron. Including homeless persons as a protected class within federal hate crime laws will help stop violence targeted toward persons experiencing homelessness.