Street Medicine
S3 Housing Connect
H3 is a member of S3 Housing Connect.
S3 Housing Connect seeks to bring together the needed resources in Sanford and Lee County to create a coordinated and comprehensive approach and to ensure that homelessness is prevented whenever possible, or is otherwise a rare, brief, and non-recurring experience.
The need for this project was identified after 22 homeless people were found to be living in an uninhabitable building and had to be relocated after the building was deemed condemned. This situation proved to Sanford that resources for the homeless needed to be located and brought to light immediately. The creation of this Task Force is a grassroots effort initiated by Sanford’s Mayor, Chet Mann, and City Council members Byron Buckels and Charles Taylor.
S3 Accomplishments
01/28/2020
In no particular order, here are some of S3’s proudest accomplishments.
Outreach Mission, Inc. shelters became “low-barrier” and expanded services, meaning there are very few barriers to entering OMI’s shelters
Bread of Life Ministries’ Extreme Weather Shelter: This emergency shelter opens when outside temperatures are too high or too low. BOLM has AC and heating capabilities
Updated 211: 211 is now Lee County’s coordinated entry system, and help for the homeless is now only a call away- Dial 211, and a person in need will be connected to all local resources
H3: Dr. Hall’s street medicine initiative
Landlord engagement/conversations around affordable housing
Multitudes of people assisted with finding shelter, housing, or other resources
Various S3 nonprofits have received federal funding via grant funding applications
Community buy-in, education, and collaboration
Created a comprehensive resource directory for Lee County
Point in Time Count data: Real-world data for homelessness in Lee County
Nonprofit board development
Local nonprofits are now connected in a service network
Street Medicine Institute
H3 is also a member of the Street Medicine Institute.
This is an international organization that gives support to local practices designed to meet the needs of people sleeping rough. The motto is, “Go to the people”: meet the people on their own terms in their own spaces. It is important to be authentic and genuine so as to build trust. H3 has built the trust of over 600 people needing our services in the past several years.
One of our homeless men, who sleeps in an old abandoned warehouse downtown, recently asked “Mrs. Cindy, why do you and Dr. Hall do this?” I answered, “ We love God and we love you.” He replied,” That’s all I need to know!”