Description
Tulane Street Health Response is a team of dedicated medical students, volunteer physicians, and volunteer social workers who seek to provide first aid, harm reduction supplies, naloxone (the opioid overdose reversal drug), vaccines, social work services, and HIV/HCV testing for unhoused New Orleanians. We set up tents twice a month in Duncan Plaza, a park in the downtown New Orleans area where most of our patients either pass through or reside, and provide the services outlined above. By meeting those that we serve where they are at, we aim to break down a barrier to receiving proper care. In all, we strive to build trust between the medical community and people who struggle with substance misuse and houselessness. We offer a unique setting for students 1) to converse and treat patients who engage in risk behaviors, 2) recognize and reduce our biases as future providers, and 3) form a stronger understanding of structural violence and inequality, root causes of substance use, and client-centered approaches. We believe patient-centered, compassionate care for everyone matters, and are dedicated to helping Tulane medical students build these skills through Tulane Street Health Response.
Donations are applied to...
Funds from this campaign will be dedicated toward purchasing cold and warm weather kits, first aid, hygiene, and other harm reduction supplies for our pop up clinics that run now twice a month.
Personal Message
Your generous donations will make a difference in the lives of the unhoused community members in New Orleans and further enhance medical students' education and ability to deliver exceptional care to our patients as future providers. From all of us at Tulane Street Health Response, thank you for donating or sharing our campaign!
Why are donations necessary?
We share a budget with several other Student-run Clinics; however, since we intend to serve a very specific patient population, we require our own finances to fund our specific needs. That is where donations from our community members come in! Each donation will allow us to purchase the specific supplies we need to serve clinic participants in a compassionate and practical way, as well as the tools we need to preserve peoples’ autonomy and privacy. Because we don’t operate out of an existing shelter or clinic building, and because we intend to distribute certain medical supplies directly to our participants so that they can care for themselves even outside of our monthly drop in, we need a budget that accommodates these extra space and utility needs. More financial security for Tulane Street Health Response means more people get life-saving supplies at more frequent time intervals, and ultimately the rate of overdose and preventable infections goes down in the community.