Blog

What does it mean to die while homeless? In modern America, this feels like one of the greatest tragedies—a result of communities abdicating their responsibility to their neighbors. This year alone, multiple Street Med patients died cold, alone, and hungry in their...

“I think you are the first doctors who have tried to get to know me,” he said, looking off in the distance. “Most of the time when I see doctors, they are so arrogant, telling me what is best for me. I don’t think a single one actually took the time to get to know me....

The past few weeks have brought a brutal heatwave across the US. Few people are more affected than those who live outside. Heat injury, such as severe sunburn, hyperthermia, and heatstroke, is a daily threat for those who lack access to indoor spaces and means to stay...

One of the core missions of Street Med STL is advocacy. We were recently invited to the State Capitol in Jefferson City to testify before the Governor’s Substance Abuse Task Force on the role of housing in substance use treatment. Our program director, Lesley...

Street Med STL is a volunteer-led organization. For years, we have relied on the commitment of our many gracious volunteers, from med students to doctors, nurses, and community members. Every so often, some of these volunteers have to move on for training, jobs, and...

Wren Hollow 3rd graders donate care packages for Street Med STL

The term “lived experience,” according to AI, is “the knowledge and understanding that comes from someone’s personal experiences, including their emotions, perceptions, preferences, and goals.” Another way of putting it, the Oxford Dictionary says, is “personal...

Earlier this year we lost one of our unhoused neighbors to overdose. He was a kind soul; someone I had known for years while caring for him on the street. He liked to tease me about my hat, asking me to buy him a matching one. He would make a game out of trying to...

Building relationships with our neighbors in the unhoused community has become a central aspect of my time in medical school. As a founding member of Street Med STL, I have learned more about resilience, teamwork, and the power of humanity than from any other life...

Volunteers from Street Med STL recently attended the International Street Medicine Institute Symposium, hosted in the wonderful Kansas City, MO. This meeting, in its 20th year, is the largest such event dedicated to those who practice street medicine. We had gracious...