Homeless People Have Stories

When was the last time you asked a homeless person what they used to do, or how they got to be where they are today? Working at the UCLA Mobile Clinic, I have the privilege of learning my patients' stories on a weekly basis. I've learned that there is no limit to the amazing things some of them have done (or are currently doing!). Homelessness does tend to be a downward spiraling process: one thing going wrong and leading to the next thing falling apart. It's hard to lift oneself out of once that, any many of our clients have been through some seriously devastating situations in their lives.

This brief video journal asked homeless people to write down one fact about themselves on cardboard. I thought this was a really cool idea--it revealed things that rarely come up in our Social Histories, but can often times be so integral to who a person is and what makes them tick:

http://www.trueactivist.com/homeless-people-were-asked-to-write-down-a-fact-about-themselves-their-answers-may-surprise-you/


Credit to Ebony for posting this originally!

What Doctors Can't Do (Community Health Workers Can)

In the Opinion Pages of the New York Times, the 'Fixes' column explores solutions to major social problems. Each week, it examines creative initiatives in an effort to promote Solutions Journalism.

On August 28, the column explores the potential of community health workers to, "help patients with the many factors keeping them sick that aren't typical doctor problems... Doctors can’t help patients change their behavior in the 15 minutes they spend with each patient. But community health workers can."

Read the article here here.