Looking Ahead to the New Year
Until there’s a cure for homelessness, this is what we are doing in 2023
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its Annual Homeless Assessment Report for 2022. According to the report, overall homelessness is on the rise—and chronic homelessness in particular has increased significantly.
In the context of this injustice, all of us at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP)- are as determined as ever to deliver on our mission: to provide unconditionally equitable and dignified access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community.
Each passing year—and especially this year—we recommit ourselves to this mission, quickly responding to whatever challenges confront our patients, be it the COVID-19 pandemic, the overdose epidemic, or the ongoing trauma of homelessness. We will be there for our patients, this year, and every year.
In 2023, we are honored to continue to serve our patients with compassion, decency, and respect, providing dignified health care and instilling hope. We are grateful to our over 10,000 patients—individuals and families—who invite us into their worlds and trust us with their care, even in spite of immense trauma. We believe our work together is medicine that matters—based in a model of care that we’ll continue innovating, on behalf of our patients and to help advance health care for people experiencing homelessness across the country
From our beginnings in 1985, we have sought to do work that is transformational—to recognize our shared humanity; center dignity, compassion, and mutual respect; and support the right of every individual to access the highest level of health care, regardless of poverty, housing status, and other life circumstances From primary care and preventative dental care for adults and children to cancer treatment and end of life care, our clinicians, case managers, and behavioral health professionals continue to deliver comprehensive and integrated health care.
These five attributes will always define our unique care here at BHCHP:
- COMPASSION – Our committed staff care for patients with the highest level of empathy, deeply understanding the struggles of their challenging lives.
- INNOVATION – We pioneer and develop best practices that address the complex and changing needs of our patients, share our knowledge, and support the adoption of these practices throughout the country.
- EFFECTIVENESS – Our highly skilled caregivers deliver and coordinate the most effective care to our patients, addressing complicated medical and behavioral health conditions that are difficult and profound.
- DIGNITY – We strive to restore human dignity to our patients, treating them with respect and genuine admiration for their courage and resiliency in enduring poverty and homelessness.
- EQUITY – We promote equity as a guiding principle in all that we do, holding it as an essential goal to inform each of our program’s goals and priorities.
The need for our work is more crucial than ever in 2023 and we depend on your generosity to keep the work going. Financial donations are vital and we have many staff openings, volunteer roles, internships, and BHCHP AmeriCorps members to fill throughout our program. We welcome your involvement – this year and for many to come.
