AmeriCorps Fellows Share Reflections
Our incredible thanks to the 2024-25 cohort of AmeriCorps fellows for choosing to serve the unhoused community in Boston through BHCHP. Their contributions across our many program sites and teams have been invaluable, to say the least. Below, fellows Lauren Bonner and Saira Mukherjee share their thoughts on the service year, what lessons they have learned, and what’s to come ahead in their upcoming futures. We wish all our outgoing fellows the best of luck as they navigate their next steps, whether it’s returning to school or pursuing more work opportunities!
Before starting the program, we were told repeatedly that it is highly unlikely that one of our patients would be housed during our service year given how long the housing process can take. On top of this, I don’t do a lot of housing work in my role so I didn’t expect that my limited knowledge would do a whole lot to help a patient. While working with one gentleman to explore options to move out of his sober house, we decided to throw in an application to a new Rapid Rehousing program that had come across my desk. Not knowing much about the program, I was diligent in making sure we had filled everything out correctly, even if that meant struggling through some housing paperwork that I had never done before. Despite my low confidence, the application was successful! Housing staff reached out to my patient saying that he was a great fit and before I knew it, he was housed in July! This situation stuck with me for multiple reasons. This patient consistently held jobs, was stable in his recovery, and was organized and diligent with housing applications for years but hadn’t had any success prior. I was so so so happy to see this patient housed after years of homelessness. This situation was also impactful for me as it showed me that, as an AmeriCorps, I am capable of much more than I think!
— Lauren Bonner
Continue reading…
My time at BHCHP has been eye-opening and I learn new things every day from the people I serve. Before starting this position, I might have found it frustrating to have my unhoused patients miss our appointments repeatedly. Biases might have convinced me that this person simply didn’t want to engage in health care or that they had slept through their appointments. After building trust with my patients and hearing their stories firsthand, I have seen the barriers impacting health outcomes that I wouldn’t have thought of previously. Seemingly simple things such as not having a reliable way to tell the time or a place to store appointment reminder cards can have such a serious impact on health that are easily overlooked by people who haven’t experienced homelessness. Learning to see situations like this from a different perspective has made me a more empathetic, understanding person, and I will take this with me in my future career as a physician.
Another way that this year has shaped my outlook on healthcare is by introducing me to foot soaking through the Saint Francis House foot clinic. With SFH being my home site, every morning I get the chance to participate in the magic of foot care. Much like other BHCHP sites, the foot clinic is a low-barrier care setting where guests come to have community while also addressing their health needs. Patients will share about the recent passing of a family member, get up to date on vaccines, and paint their nails all in one place. The foot clinic also brings together nursing students, medical students, volunteers, and AmeriCorps to work together and serve guests. My experience serving in the foot clinic has been transformative as I’ve seen how simple actions such as soaking your feet can open someone up to taking back control of their health in larger ways. As the founder of the foot clinic once said to me, “the warm water passes from the feet to the heart,” and this statement exemplifies how foot care can be a valuable tool to resolve health inequities. I am very grateful to be continuing with AmeriCorps for another year so that I can keep experiencing this magic.
My perspective on homelessness has changed completely since the time I spent working at BHCHP. There are nuances and social determinants of health that I was aware of in theory but seeing them in practice has been eye-opening and has really driven home how close to us homelessness really is. I implicitly thought before that many people who were struggling with substance use were struggling before becoming homeless and that drugs were a factor in their journey into homelessness. I have since realized that so much of the addiction we see comes after homelessness, due to exposure once on the street, and an inability to cope with an impossible situation. Many of my patients became homeless due to family trauma, neglect, or chronic diseases and treatment that bankrupted them. Primary care is integral to keeping people off the streets, and proper health care is unfortunately a huge privilege.
— Saira Mukherjee
Continue reading…
I also had a slight understanding of how unhoused people function as a community before I started work here, but I got to see firsthand the love and care that people have for each other in these spaces. There is a misconception that unhoused people are out to get each other, or even out to get others. I have found that the most selfless acts of generosity come from within the unhoused community to other members of the community. For me, it restores a lot of hope in humanity to see people who may not have much support for themselves, give so willingly to others and take care of each other constantly.
If I could have talked to myself before starting here, I would encourage myself to lean into learning from my patients. They have taught me so much about my own life, friendships, family relationships, and general approach to life. I would also tell myself to check my assumptions, and the assumptions of those around me, inside and outside of work. The motivations behind certain mindsets or behaviors of my patients are rarely guessable. Often, I and staff around me think we know where a patient is coming from or that we understand what they are trying to communicate, but only they have the context that is necessary for us to reach true understanding. Even knowing someone’s background and story is not enough, because every once in a while, the patients I find myself misunderstanding the most are the ones that I have known for the longest. This learning curve has taught me how to take a different approach to seeing clarity in my relationships inside and outside of work.
