School of Medicine

By listening to the stories of chronically homeless patients and the community leaders who care deeply about them, I learned a tremendous amount about how our current health system is ill-equipped to address many patient needs, especially the social determinants of health. I learned how powerful it is to talk to patients outside of the hospital in humanizing them and influencing our own attitudes and biases. Given medical students’ limited exposure to homeless patients outside of the hospital, partnering with community hotspotting and housing-first initiatives is a valuable experience for changing future physician attitudes towards the homeless and learning a tremendous amount about our health and social support systems.