Meet our 2022 Marathon Team: Dr. Peter Smith

Meet Peter! Peter Smith, MD, is our newly-appointed Medical Director, though he’s been with our program for many years at our JYP clinic and, at the height of the pandemic, working at Boston Hope, the field hospital at the Boston Convention Center. 

Meet Peter! Peter Smith, MD, is our newly-appointed Medical Director, though he’s been with our program for many years at our JYP clinic and, at the height of the pandemic, working at Boston Hope, the field hospital at the Boston Convention Center. Peter has been jogging since college, but really got into long distance running about five years ago. What started as a way to take care of his health became a fulfilling hobby and he enjoys challenging himself by running long distances and trying to beat his time. This is his first time running the race on the course with everyone else, though he ran the virtual Boston Marathon in 2020 for BHCHP, and he’s excited for that.

“I grew up in Newton and we would go every year and cheer on the runners after they came down heartbreak hill. It has been a dream of mine to run Boston for a long time.”

Of our patients and program Peter says, “I think it is great to be able to support the program. These past few years have been really hard for a lot of our patients. During the pandemic many were displaced from shelters, then from the tent encampments. We have lost so many due to overdose. It feels good to be able to support the services that help them cope during these crises. People experiencing homelessness are stigmatized in so many ways- because they are homeless, because they are struggling with substance use or mental illness. They are reduced to caricatures, or they are seen as an annoying problem to be solved. Building awareness of people as individuals with strength and courage in the face of incredible challenges can return to them some of their dignity and humanity.”

His family, friends, and his colleagues will be cheering him on at the finish line!