FOURTH STREET CLINIC

Fourth Street Clinic was founded in 1988 by Dr. Allan Ainsworth inside a cleaned out office across the street from Utah's largest emergency shelter. The triage clinic was staffed with one part-time nurse who relied heavily on hospitals for patient treatments.

Today, with a staff of 45 and a volunteer network of more than 200, Fourth Street Clinic is a comprehensive health care home that serves 6,500 homeless men, women and children with 30,000 primary care, behavioral health and specialty care visits. Fourth Street Clinic dispenses 40,000 medications annually.

By increasing homeless Utahns access to primary care, Fourth Street Clinic is a major partner in ending homelessness, promoting community health, and achieving across-the-board health care savings. For many patients, the clinic is their first and only chance at proper diagnosis and treatment. Good physical and mental health is the foundation for transitioning back into permanent housing. Many chronically homeless Utahns ignore their health problems for decades; many are also alcoholics which, coupled with street living, leaves their bodies compromised. Simple problems often turn into health crises and can cost thousands of dollars if they go untreated.

For more information visit http://www.fourthstreetclinic.org/

How You Can Help The Homeless

Picture taken in front of Heber Wells Building, Oct 2010

What do you do when you see a homeless person? What if they approach you holding a sign or ask for money? Do you give them some? Do you feel guilty if you don't? Or do you pretend not to see them?

Nobody likes to be confronted by the homeless. Their needs seem so overwhelming. Yet they deserve to be treated kindly. Here are some simple guidelines from The Rescue Mission of Salt Lake to really help the homeless people you meet.

1. Don't give them cash. If they are hungry, buy them a sandwich or a beverage. Too often well intended gifts of cash to the homeless are converted into drugs or alcohol--even when the "hard luck" stories they tell are true.
2. Homeless people are not all the same. The person you meet may be a battered woman, an addicted veteran, mentally ill, a con artist, or someone who's lost a job. Refer them to someone who is trained to deal with their problems.
3. Talk to the person with respect. Many of the homeless are consumed by isolation, depression and paranoia. If a homeless person approaches you, a friendly response (even when saying "NO") can help restore a degree of respect.
4. Be cautious and alert when you talk to someone on the street. Stay in areas where others can see you, and don't take unnecessary chances. Don't feel that you are being uncaring if your personal safety is in question.
5. Encourage the homeless to get help. Free meals, shelter and medical care as well as rehabilitation programs are available.
6. Donate to a cause to support the homeless.
7. Check out the website: http://www.endpanhandling.com/

Charity Codes:

1014 Crossroads Urban Center is a non-profit, grassroots organization which assists and organizes low income, disabled, and minority Utahns to meet basic survival needs and to address essential issues affecting the quality of life. The Center was instrumental in establishing homeless shelters and the statewide Food Bank.
1118 Fourth Street Clinic is a comprehensive medical home providing coordinated primary care, behavioral health, and pharmacy services.
1037 Rescue Mission of Salt Lake City provides: A free, whole person, 1 year New Life Residential Recovery Program
An "open door" breakfast six days a week
An "open door" dinner every night of the year
Food baskets for families in need
Emergency sleeping accommodations in our overnight Dorm for up to 50 men every night
A Baggage Room where men may check in their baggage
A Message Board where we post telephone messages for guests
Mail reception
Free clothing distribution
Access to our Dorm facility three days a week for men to shave and shower
Day Room open during the winter months and during inclement weather.
7556 The Road Home is a private non-profit social service agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front. Our mission is to help people step out of homelessness and back into our community. Originally established in 1923 to assist stranded travelers, the Road Home has grown to address a spectrum of needs that people experiencing homelessness encounter as they work to restore their lives. In addition to operating the largest shelter in Utah, the Road Home has developed a comprehensive housing program that helps people move into housing as quickly as possible.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." -Emma Lazarus