While California makes up 12% of the country’s population, the state has 30% of the country’s population of people experiencing homelessness — as well as half of those who are unsheltered, living outside. People experiencing homelessness often have serious physical and behavioral health needs but little access to traditional health care facilities and providers. “Street medicine” is the direct delivery of health care directly to people who are unsheltered, in their own environment.

In March 2023, CHCF published The California Street Medicine Landscape Survey and Report, the first report of its kind to examine the current state of street medicine in California. The study was conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Southern California Division of Street Medicine, known as USC Street Medicine.

While the USC Street Medicine team was conducting the survey, they were accompanied by videographer-storyteller Mark Horvath of Invisible People, a nonprofit group that educates the public about homelessness. In a four-part series, Brett Feldman, director of the Division of USC Street Medicine, introduces us to street medicine programs in four cities across California, both urban and rural, as follows:

• Los Angeles with Dr. Jim Withers, a pioneer in the field of street medicine and founder of the Street Medicine Institute, an organization dedicated to providing health care to those unable to access it through traditional means.
• Oakland with Dr. Jason Reinking and the LifeLong Medical Care’s street medicine team
• Redding with Dr. Kyle Patton
• Bakersfield with Dr. Matthew Beare and the Clinica Sierra Vista Street Medicine Team

While of broad interest, these videos may be particularly helpful to clinicians or organizations interested in launching or expanding street medicine programs. Viewers will learn about different models, engagement strategies, and street-based health care interventions. The series captures the common philosophy guiding the work and the diversity in practice throughout California.