Nighttime Rounds with Health Care for the Homeless: The Outreach Van

After we met with several patients the Pine Street Inn outreach van arrived. Jim wrapped things up inside and grabbed our coats. It's currently a mild fall in Massachusetts and although it wasn't very cold the skies threatened to storm so I yanked my two sizes two big pullover on, just in case.

I've been out in an outreach van before but the van I'm used to is nothing like this. Inside there were several boxes, one full of blankets and one full of socks. When you opened the back doors there was a cooler filled with sandwiches, fruit, dry soup, hot chocolate, and two water dispensers, one hot and one cold. The van I'm used to plays more of a shuttle service role, is lucky to have socks to distribute, and giving out food is against program policy (because of health concerns, not because it's a cheap program).

We drove down Commonwealth Avenue, on the mall. I have walked the mall dozens of times, during the day and in the early evening hours, but I had never seen someone who presented as a homeless person there. That night I saw how many people really do call the Commonwealth Mall home. There was a variety of people, from an older men who needed to have an injured jaw taken care of to a young guy in a suit.

Outreach runs continue to be engaging, dare I use the word "fun", experiences for me. Everyone was appreciative of what we had to offer, even though it was only a light meal and some human contact. The staff that I talk with are interesting and passionate about their work and those who aren't are often burnt out and need a vacation that this field doesn't allow them to afford. The only thing that worries me is that the shock of seeing how people on the streets are forced to live is starting to wear off.