St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

The mission of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program is to ensure unconditionally equitable and dignified access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community. Many homeless patients struggle with at least one substance abuse problem, at least one chronic physical condition and a psychiatric illness. Each condition is often preventable and manageable…on its own. But, in combination and left untreated, such health problems become compounded — and all too often, fatal. 

Medicine has long grappled with addressing these interconnected aspects of a patient’s healthcare in a coordinated way. The integrated care model at BHCHP unites physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, case managers and behavioral health professionals in close collaboration. They follow patients in a variety of settings – on the streets, at the Barbara McInnis House, in shelter-based clinics, in the hospitals and in housing – providing regular contact and uninterrupted care…

This week, let’s turn to the individual stories of those who live in the shadows and whom the BHCHP seeks to help and share in God’s grace. There are many paths to homelessness including mental health, discrimination, addiction, and violence. However, many of us are surprised that the faces of the homeless often hide that they were once in a home and only a crisis or breakdown away from turning their lives upside down…

Jackie moved back and forth between Boston and North Carolina before she found herself a single parent with two children, no affordable housing and despondent with her choices. Fortunately, she found the St. Mary’s Center shelter and met the BHCHP Family Team who treated her family like their family – with the human self-worth they deserved. They watched her children while she went to interviews and went back to school. Jackie now works for the BHCHP as a medical assistant paying forward to those who come in despair and in need of a comforting welcome…