With the frigid temperatures comes additional concern for the homeless individuals who live on Bethesda’s streets.
Bethesda Cares, the nonprofit that provides counseling, clothing and other services to the homeless, held a special “medical triage” event last Saturday at a local church. Some of the nearly 40 homeless people at the event, which was held at the Bethesda Presbyterian Church in partnership with the Sathya Sai South Bethesda Center, were found suffering from chronic homelessness during the 100,000 Homes survey campaign conducted countywide Nov. 4-6.
Six doctors and 30 volunteers were able to screen the homeless or those at-risk of being homeless. The individuals were given a meal, healthcare “navigator” from InterfaithWorks and several were helped with signing up for health insurance.
John Mendez, the outreach specialist at Bethesda Cares, said one individual has spent time in the intensive care unit of a local hospital since the 100,000 Homes Campaign registry week, illustrating the urgency of the problem.
Councilmembers George Leventhal and Craig Rice, who both participated in the 100,000 Homes registry week, introduced a special budget appropriation last month of $649,325 out of the county’s reserves to immediately place 15 homeless individuals for 18 months. Their time in supportive housing would include necessary case-work and staff support.
Once the man is discharged from the hospital, Mendez said he may be back on the street and at greater risk of death.
During registry week, a group of nonprofit workers, government officials and volunteers fanned out across the county and interviewed 369 homeless individuals from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Mendez said outreach teams he was a part of found 30 military veterans living in the streets or in shelters. Mendez and volunteers from the Uniformed Services University did another street medical outreach trip between 5:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Tuesday near Piney Branch in Silver Spring.
Mendez said the team found 12 homeless individuals for which it provided personal care items.
“This is very alarming because our overflow shelters are open and we still have scores of people experiencing street homelessness. Many of these individuals and military veterans are suffer from paranoia, PTSD, and severe mental illness,” Mendez said. “They have a difficult time functioning among large populations in shelter environments. Simply put, no person should be left on the streets while suffering from severe mental illness. We must find a way to allocate housing resources and supportive services for these individuals.”
Photo via Bethesda Cares
