When doctors join your outreach, health and housing make the difference
By Jonathan Glover, City of Auburn Communications Manager
On the outskirts of Auburn, every first and third Thursday of the month, a troupe makes the rounds. A doctor, a nurse, an outreach worker or two. A mobile clinic, in every sense of the word.
They’re walking the trails they’ve treaded before, dipping into camps with new and familiar faces. They’re offering help — a way out of this current situation. If it’s access to medicine that will lessen the withdrawal of fentanyl or heroin, there’s a doctor right here. If it’s wound treating, here’s the gauze and years of expertise. If it’s someone to talk to, here’s an ear.
Engage in the process of getting healthy first, and the recovery and housing can easily follow, goes the motto of the Whole Care Team at HealthPoint in Auburn. Their partnership with the City of Auburn’s Human Services department is making that a reality.
“When we work together, people are able to succeed and succeed faster,” says Dr. Nathan Kittle, Addiction Medicine Specialty Director at HealthPoint. “That’s the crux of it.”
For about 4 years, Kittle’s team — at first, staffed exclusively by Kittle himself, and then slowly other doctors and nurses — have joined the City of Auburn Anti-homelessness outreach team twice a month with the goal of accessibility. To reach people where they are, and to get them the help they need. To build trust, build a relationship, with the goal of treatment, and then permanent housing.
On a Thursday in August, City of Auburn’s Drew Conley is joined by HealthPoint doctor Acton and nurse Mary. They’re just northeast of Brannan Park, along a path that snakes parallel to Green River. Just off the path is a network of trails and former campsites — they’re looking for those who haven’t come inside.
“This partnership demonstrates the importance of focusing on long term solutions instead of short term resources,” Drew says. “That is, as the City of Auburn continues to focus on the long-term solutions of housing, treatment, and employment as well as physical health, we will continue to see more and more people exit homelessness and move into long term successful housing.”
After several hundred feet, they’re greeted by Robert and Alisha. Robert has been in and out of treatment, housing, and jail for years. He was recently released from the latter — after which, he came to a familiar area.
“When we work together, people are able to succeed and succeed faster.”
He knows he can’t stay here, and he’s offered help — get on medication that could aid in kicking the fentanyl addiction. Acton offers him a prescription right then and there — all Robert needs to do is come to the clinic on Auburn Avenue. If he comes, maybe he can get treatment, too, for a failing kidney.
“I’m not staying out here anymore,” Robert says. “Seriously, I’m done.”
To those familiar with this work, those words are common and oftentimes empty. But you need to hear it over, and over, and over, and over, before the person saying it really means it. Because until they’re ready, not much is going to happen — being there when they are makes all the difference.
“If we can build a relationship, build trust, seek people where they are, and we can get them healthy, it helps,” says Dr. Kittle. “They’re oftentimes so stuck in their physical and mental health, they can’t even begin to engage in the process of getting healthy.”
Kittle says from the outreach partnership with the City, which is funded through federal grants, they’ve helped dozens of Auburn-area homeless get medical help. While most outside don’t need a hospital or urgent care, what they do need are the small things that can cause delays in housing — things like wounds from the climate or injections, high blood pressure, syphilis or mental healthcare.
Anyone is able to walk into their clinic downtown and get help immediately — something experts say saves money in the long run, since emergency rooms are so costly. “Most people don’t need a hospital,” Kittle says. “Whenever someone not in an emergency goes to an emergency room, it’s a waste of money.”
It also leads to more streamlined housing — when there’s one thing less on the checklist of needs before a place to stay, things tend to move more quickly.
For Human Services Director Kent Hay, who oversees anti-homelessness, and his team, the Health Point partnership is a win-win.
“Our success in streamlining medical care and housing for individuals experiencing homelessness is largely due to the assistance of the Whole Care Team at HealthPoint,” he says. “Their support has been instrumental in ensuring that those in our community receive comprehensive services, including medical, dental, and mental health treatment. Dr. Kittle had a vision, and through collaborative efforts, he has turned that vision into reality. We are proud to work alongside them to support Auburn residents in need.”
