Grace Healthcare Services Corp

Homeless Outreach and Street Medicine Program (HOSMP)

Most homeless people in Gainesville live on the margins of the city, away from medical services and lacking reliable transportation and many times the necessary insurance coverage to access these vital services. For this reason, Grace Healthcare Services, in partnership with The University of Florida College of Medicine and the Alachua County Department of Community Support Services, has created the Homeless Outreach and Street Medicine Program (HOSMP). Teams of medical students, health professionals, and behavioral specialists are bringing their services to the streets.  HOSMP connects with Gainesville Fire Rescue’s Community Resource Paramedicine Program and the GRACE Marketplace Outreach Teams on a regular basis.

In addition to a combination of acute medical care and prescription refills, the HOSMP team will also provide connections to housing programs and other social services needed by people living in homelessness, as well as supply basic necessities like food, clothing, and hygiene products. By taking compassionate care of the most vulnerable among us, HOSMP is helping heal bodies and minds to create better futures.

No community can be truly prosperous when so many don't have access to the basic physical and mental healthcare that will help them transition from a place of desperation to begin their journey of self-sufficiency. The less access the homeless population has to acute care services, the more dire their situations will become, leading to extensive emergency room visits.

The Homeless Outreach and Street Medicine Program can mitigate the need for emergency room services by addressing health needs before they escalate.

Your gift makes it possible for this team of partners to bring acute medical care, pharmaceutical services, and links to social service programs to the people who need it most... the unsheltered, homeless population of Alachua County.