Bridging the Gap Between Homelessness and Healthcare

Vertical is an us and them relationship. It is based on one person or group having a greater abundance of resources than they are giving to another group of people. Horizontal is a relationship where both parties have resources to bring to the table. OTS operates horizontally with the unhoused population. We interact with them as adults that make their own decisions and know their daily lives, needs and routines better than we do. There is no us and them in OTS, everyone is part of the team—everyone. The care OTS provides only works if the client buys into it and according to human nature, that only happens if they have a part in it.

There are plenty of spaces and situations where our clients feel they don’t have enough. Enough food, enough safety, enough health support…enough value to the community to matter. At OTS, we exist for and because of our clients. If they have a suggestion for programming that is within our scope, we are all ears. If they need support in a new location, we show up whenever and wherever we are able. If they have an idea of how to care for themselves that is outside medical practice, but makes sense and is safe, they lead that discussion.

We would not be here if our clients didn’t need us. We are the only ones, in many cases, who provide this type of care. But we are doing more than just filling a gap. Yes—we are the bridge to the next level of service—both escalating to higher levels of care as well as helping people step down from them. Yet we are also keeping people out of higher levels of care, treating their cough before it becomes pneumonia, their cut before it becomes infected. And we create community where maybe there was none. Our clients on their best day are likely misunderstood and on their worst day are likely despised. We are creating conversations and connections that help two very different communities come together to create safety and understanding by sharing the stories of support between them.

We work with partners who seek to expand our services, not restrict who we serve or the way we serve. We sit and stay only in the meetings and convenings where we belong—we won’t spend our time in conversations we have no part in. We seek out the spaces of the underserved who often have fallen between the cracks of our society, and honor that this is where they are and be with them “in the moment.”