IN SOLIDARITY

To the Street Medicine Community

In solidarity with people around the world, the Street Medicine Institute voices its anger at and intolerance of the continued injustices and specific targeting of black Americans.  We abhor the structural racism and implicit biases that perpetuate inequities in health care, criminal justice, education, and economic self-sufficiency.  The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among black Americans and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are recent examples of racism and structural violence against people of color in the United States.  The Street Medicine Institute also grieves and bears witness to the violence, marginalization, and oppression of excluded people throughout the world, some of whom are your rough-sleeping patients.  We want you, especially you who are our black and brown colleagues, to know that we stand beside you with our arms linked in your arms against both the overt acts of violence and the insidious silence that surrounds them.

The Street Medicine Institute commits to the following actions in our fight for equity and justice:

1. We are listening. Please email us at [email protected] to share ways in which the Street Medicine Institute can improve equity within our organization.
2. We will convene an advocacy group and seek input from our diverse international membership to develop strategies to meaningfully address structural violence in each of our communities. Please email Liz Frye at [email protected] if you would like to participate or lead this effort.
3. We commit to educating ourselves and the street medicine community about the racial disparity among the black unsheltered homeless population and equipping organizations and individuals on ways to erase that disparity.

Lastly, we want to remind you of who we are as a community of people who practice street medicine and why each of you bring us hope.  Our collective work in street medicine is defined more by the values and beliefs that guide our daily lives than by the medical care we deliver.  Among the core of these values are inclusivity, solidarity, justice and love.  We practice inclusion medicine; all people - no matter their race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, or any other attribute - are worthy of our care.  We listen and allow our rough-sleeping friends to define our priorities, rather than forcing them to conform to our agenda.  We stand in solidarity with the people we serve, immersing ourselves in their reality.  The harsher their reality becomes, the more we strive to share their burden, letting them know we will walk with them no matter what.  We bear witness to injustices inflicted on them almost daily, challenging their right to exist, reminding them that no place is their own, not even a park bench.  Most importantly, we understand that of all the things we share, a tender love is needed most.

 
In solidarity and with love,

The Street Medicine Institute Board

Brett Feldman, Liz Frye, Amanda Cook, Dave Deci, Pat Perri, Steve Perry, Jim Withers, Henrik Thiesen, Korrinne Yurick, and Irene McFadden

Announcing - Paid Membership

As you may remember, we, the Street Medicine Institute, celebrated our 15^th anniversary at the International Street Medicine Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA last October.  Did you know that one hundred percent of the work of the Institute over these past 15 or so years has been accomplished through the efforts of our all-volunteer board?  While the board will continue dedicating its time and talents toward the governance and leadership of SMI, we have come to recognize that long term sustainability of the Institute and accomplishment of goals beyond the annual symposium require a staffed operating structure. 

With this objective in mind, we are implementing payment for membership effective July 1, 2020.  While students and persons with lived experience with rough-sleeping will continue to have free access to the Institute’s resources, all others who wish to join us in our global mission of inspiring and equipping communities worldwide to provide Street Medicine services to rough-sleeping homeless persons will now be asked to make a tax-deductible donation to become and remain a member. 

We hope you find the benefits of SMI membership to be worthwhile.  By joining, you will have access to:

●      All materials available on the streetmedicine.org Resources tab

●      SMI published COVID19 guidance and other related materials

●      Three newly reopened secure Forums moderated by Street Medicine experts focused on:

o   Mental health issues in Street Medicine  -  (Liz Frye, MD)

o   General street medicine topics  -  (Jim Withers, MD and Brett Feldman, PA)

o   Students of Street Medicine  -  (Korrinne Yurick and Ellie Small (Street Medicine Student Coalition Chief Coordinators) and David Deci, MD)

●      The Street Medicine Institute newsletter

●      Discounted registration fees for the annual International Street Medicine Symposium (with a one-time special arrangement in 2020 described below)

●      The opportunity to have your professional publications and stories about your street medicine program published on streetmedicine.org.

●      Your paid Program membership will include 3 linked individual members for the price of the one Program rate.

Another important announcement is that the Toronto symposium will be postponed to the fall of 2021.  Instead, this year the Street Medicine Institute will be offering its first ever virtual International Street Medicine Symposium (ISMS) October 15 – 17, 2020.  Details regarding the program and registration will follow later this month.  Recognizing the many challenges of this difficult moment in time, we are including free access to our new virtual format with your paid membership for this year only.  We hope you will click HERE to join now and secure your access to FREE registration for ISMS 2020!

 

Street Medicine colleagues, the community and collaboration we share with you has sustained us throughout these past 15 years.  Your support and friendship have strengthened us to continue in our work – enabling us to help build new programs, gather and report data, publish clinical guidance designed to ensure quality care delivery, formally gather and guide students interested in street medicine, and annually convene street medicine providers from around the world – all with the goal of bringing care to the most vulnerable members or our society -- our friends, rough sleeping homeless persons.  Because of your past support, more healthcare professionals around the world are going to the people.  We hope you will join us in this new phase of our movement.

In solidarity,

The Street Medicine Institute Board of Directors