Congratulations to the 2025 Seed Grant Recipients!
The Street Medicine Institute’s Seed Grant program furthers SMI’s mission of assisting communities to establish their own Street Medicine programs. The program facilitates and enhances the direct provision of health care to rough sleepers where they live by providing communities and clinicians with expert training, guidance, and support to develop and grow their own Street Medicine programs. We were delighted to have received a record twenty-nine deserving and qualified applications for the fifth year of this grant- evidence that street medicine is expanding across the United States.
SMI is pleased to announce that this year's Seed Grant recipients are Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore, Maryland and NeighborHub Health in Cincinnati, Ohio. Both programs will receive a year of SMI Membership and free registration for the International Street Medicine Symposium. Further, each has been awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 and a year of intensive consultative support from Street Medicine experts. Congratulations!
Health Care for the Homeless - Street Medicine Program
More than 11,000 people in Baltimore and Baltimore County turn to Health Care for the Homeless for trusted care each year. This number represents people experiencing homelessness who actively seek care through our fixed-site clinics and mobile clinic. Over our years in the community, clients, providers and partnering community-based organizations have all identified the need for more street outreach to bring care directly to neighbors facing high barriers. Current street medicine programs in Baltimore are quite limited, and Health Care for the Homeless is uniquely positioned to create a dedicated street medicine program to begin to address this gap in care.
Grounded in principles of harm reduction, dignity, safety, flexibility, access and collaboration, our team consists of outreach workers, medical providers, nurses and peer recovery specialists. Launching the end of April 2025, this team will work closely to provide trauma informed primary care (including wound care), health education, support for chronic conditions, preventive and mental health screenings, referrals, substance use treatment (including Medication Assisted Treatment or MAT) and syringe services and safe use supplies to rough sleepers in Baltimore. During our first year, we aim to serve at least 300 individuals, provide 50 naloxone kits and training to prevent overdoses, provide MAT to 25 clients, and distribute safe use supplies to 100 clients. By building trust and offering non-judgmental, person-centered care in the places where people stay, our overarching goal is to connect individuals to healing relationships and create access to a wider range of services at Health Care for the Homeless and partner organizations, wherever they may choose to receive care.
NeighborHub Health - Cincinnati Street Medicine
NeighborHub Health is a federally-qualified health center (FQHC) that serves the Cincinnati, OH community. The Cincinnati Street Medicine program formed through a partnership between NeighborHub Health, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services’ Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) Street Outreach Program, University of Cincinnati Departments of Family & Community Medicine and Emergency Medicine and the University of Cincinnati Early Intervention Program (UC EIP). Our street medicine team (Physician, Medical Assistant, Peer Navigator, Outreach Worker, EIP Health Promotion Advocate (HPA)) has team members going out in the community five half-days a week to screen, treat, follow-up, and connect people with services. Our team meets people where they are to engage with and care for them with the goal of improving their health and life.
This grant will allow our team to purchase a point-of-care ultrasound and EKG, wound care supplies, and point-of-care lab tests. Funds will also help to offset the cost of medications for our patients. The mentorship of the Street Medicine Institute Board of Directors will benefit our program tremendously as we coalesce as a team and expand street medicine services in our community.
