NEWS & VIEWS
Meeting Them Where They Are
Spring 2024
During their weekly street rounds, the MSM teams encounter individuals with any number of medical issues, including various skin conditions, said Jonette Keri, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of clinical dermatology and cutaneous surgery, as well as a regular MSM volunteer and member of its advisory board. “At least half of the people we see have something on their skin. I see a lot of ringworm, bug bites and dermatitis, which are often very treatable right there,” she said. “We also care for chronic wounds and other cutaneous infections, as well as coordinating skin cancer removal for patients.”
This Miami doctor combines medical care with social justice
May 1st, 2023
Dr. Armen Henderson makes house calls to the unhoused.
He doesn’t wait for those who need medical care to come to him — at the hospital. He realized that the people who need the most help, who have the most urgent needs, have an endless list of barriers to medical care.
Unaffordable housing. Low wages. Flooding. Distrust of police. Especially while they’re homeless. So Henderson takes his medicine to them
Miami Street Medicine hosts foot-washing event for the homeless in Liberty City
October 4th, 2021
Inching forward from his chair and, softly placing his hands into an Epsom-salt-filled bucket of water, Kavan Mulloy grasps the foot of a homeless woman and gently scrubs the dirt and buildup away in a scene reminiscent of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.
“If your foot has an issue and you don’t take care of that, you can’t walk,” Mulloy said. “And if you can’t walk, you can’t find work. And if you can’t work and you’re homeless, your days are numbered. This event is symbolic but also has a utility in that we are here to help people and better educate them about how to care for their feet and themselves.”
Miami Commissioners Postpone Vote on Ordinance Banning Homeless Encampments
October 14th, 2021
Miami commissioners have postponed a vote on an ordinance aimed at banning homeless camping in the city.
The decision was made by the city manager to take the item off the agenda at the commsiion meeting Thursday at city hall, as a few dozen demonstrators gathered outside to protest the ordinance.
ADVOCATES CHEER AS MIAMI COMMISSIONERS DELAY VOTE ON HOMELESS CRACKDOWN
October 15th, 2021
Miami city commissioners postponed the vote on a controversial ordinance that would make homeless encampments illegal, saying they wanted to talk with advocates to find a solution for the city’s homeless population.
"CONVERGENCE:COURAGE IN A CRISIS" REVIEW: CONFRONTING COVID-19 CHAOS
October 11th, 2021
This Netflix documentary focuses on grass-roots efforts in the face of the pandemic and was shot by 10 different teams in locations around the world.
The U.S. location is Miami, where Dr. Armen Henderson treats patients inside and outside his hospital (including the homeless, in their tent cities).
MILLERS STUDENTS LAUNCH STREET MEDICINE CLINIC
INVENT UM: September 2nd, 2021
“Overall, though, the strategy is simple," Bergholz said. "Continue going to the people, building trust, filling the cracks between existing pillars of support, and making careful improvements to our services. Love for our neighbors on the street is always the mission.”
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Living and dying on the street, across from a hospital
Miami Herald: July 19th, 2021
She was sitting at a bus stop. Wrapped in three layers of clothes, you might make nothing of her at first — until you remember that it’s May, in Miami. Baking in the heat, she had been waiting there for two days, alone, so disoriented that she couldn’t tell us her name. No bus was going to help her. What she really needed was just across the street: a hospital.
Our team of medical students from Miami Street Medicine, a student-run organization, found her while conducting a weekly street run to provide medical aid to Miami’s homeless population. Unaware of her surroundings, through fluid filled lungs, she was able to muster a whisper, “Help me.”
FROM IDEA TO REALITY: THE EVOLUTION OF MIAMI STREET MEDICINE
WAC Newsletter: July 19th, 2021
We founded Miami Street Medicine (MSM) to address the unique needs of the local unsheltered population. It started when our founder and current Project Manager, Danny Bergholz, sent a message on the first day of class: “Would anyone be interested in starting a street medicine clinic together?” The response amongst the class of then first-year medical students was enthusiastic, and a group of us got to work right away.
A DEFENDER FOR THE HOMELESS
November 16th, 2020
Homeless for 17 years, Karen sat in the parking lot of Overtown’s historic St. John’s Baptist Church on an early Monday in late August, waiting her turn to take a shower and accept a handout of food.
Everything she owned was stuffed into three, large cloth bags that were as weather-beaten as the items they held: a few bundles of clothes, a blanket, a pair of shoes — tattered possessions that served as a reminder of her tough life on the streets.
DONATE A TENT TO FLATTEN THE CURVE FUNDRAISER
February 9th, 2020
For people sleeping rough on the streets, the message "stay at home" lands differently. The COVID-19 crisis puts those without a place to isolate at a significantly increased risk of both catching the illness themselves, and spreading the illness to tens, or hundreds, of others. People experiencing homelessness often have little choice but to utilize public spaces and keep in close proximity with each other for safety, shelter, and community. The need for tents and food within the homeless community has never been greater. Please consider donating so we can distribute these essential items, which will help flatten the curve for all of us.
