Vision: Bridging the gap between homelessness and healthcare

Mission: We endeavor to provide services, supplies and education to medically underserved persons with the goal of caring for immediate minor ailments in order to prevent catastrophic and costly medical conditions. We additionally provide recuperative shelter for those too ill to be unsheltered, but not ill enough to be hospitalized and/or for those discharged from the hospital to prevent readmission.

On The Spot Aid, Inc is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt national non-profit organization. Registration FDACS # CH64855

Undaunted - Important update May 27, 2025

Our History

To our faithful supporters and partners of On The Spot Aid,

At the end of April the building that houses our Recuperative Care Center in Englewood experienced an electrical fire. While the fire didn’t extend to our portion of the building, the smoke damage to all of our beds,bedding, furniture and some medical supplies was complete. No one was injured, but the damage to the building was extensive enough that On the Spot Aid could no longer operate Recuperative Care from that location.

In addition to providing support to our clients that have grown to depend on the day to day services provided at the center, it has been a VERY busy month packing, finding a new place to operate administratively, and store medical supplies and house vehicles. (Huge thanks to Venice United Church of Christ for generously providing for our needs!) Now that the dust is beginning to settle, we are writing to update you on the status of our progress.

First, thank you for your patience; we understand that a situation like this can cause misinformation to spread, and we deeply appreciate the confidence you’ve placed in our work for the unhoused over the years.

On The Spot Aid continues working hard to provide client services. What we learned in our “proof of concept year” with the Recuperative Care Center is that it is a service that is needed, and significantly reduces the medical cost of re-admittance after a hospitalization. We had a 100% success rate of no returns to hospital care with each of our recuperative guests. The recuperative care program is and will continue. For now we will be using hotel rooms with frequent visits from staff and volunteers.
We continue to host 6 weekly mobile clinics visiting with approximately 100 unhoused clients weekly.
Many of you have seen our new mobile unit donated and outfitted by the Red Cross. This unit has helped OTS operate the weekly clinics with more efficiency and privacy for our clients and volunteers, allowing us to help even more.

What may look like a crisis can become an opportunity for growth, reevaluation of best practices and greater service opportunities. The bottom line is that thanks to your generosity and partnership, no client services have been interrupted and we are able to expand our services in south Sarasota County while managing the logistics of relocation. We will continue to always be transparent and responsibly manage the resources and trust you place as we continue to bridge the gap between homelessness and healthcare. We also welcome your questions, concerns and counsel.

Gratefully,

Team OTS

The OTS Pillars of Systemic Change

1. We operate using Horizontal Relationships.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

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.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

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.

3. We exist to serve two communities

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

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.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

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.”

Undaunted - Important update May 27, 2025

Our History

The OTS Pillars of Systemic Change

1. We operate using Horizontal Relationships.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

3. We exist to serve two communities

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you!

Mailing Address

On The Spot Aid, Inc

Undaunted - Important update May 27, 2025

Our History

The OTS Pillars of Systemic Change

1. We operate using Horizontal Relationships.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

2. Our clients drive our care as well as our programmatic decisions.

3. We exist to serve two communities

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

4. We show up in the community only in the spaces where it makes sense.

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you!

Mailing Address

On The Spot Aid, Inc

Connect With Us

This website uses cookies.