About Us
Addressing the Gap with Our Mission
People experiencing homelessness have very limited access to primary medical care. Rough living conditions foster an environment where the most basic medical concerns can quickly become problematic. On The Spot Aid, Inc is a street medicine outreach, providing assessments, treatments, education and provision of basic first aid supplies in public places where the homeless can be found. Serving Port Charlotte and South Sarasota County Florida.
Our 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.
Our history
Our Co-founders Cindy and Bonnie Voortman had been involved with the unhoused community for years and were always drawn to that community.
Working as a Paramedic and Nurse they quickly became aware that there was a glaring gap between homelessness and the healthcare system. They had seen those who were unhoused call 911 or enter the ER with more advanced disease processes and/or infections, and stayed longer, than those who were housed.
They began looking for agencies to refer people to. They thought there must’ve been a better alternative that existed for the unhoused to access healthcare than the ER or the prison system. Large cities had street medicine programs, but they couldn’t even find a model for a program that served a more suburban setting.
At some point in their conversations, they had to ask,
“If no one else is doing this, should we? Could we?”
The answer YES!
In Gratitude to our Donors and Volunteers
Everything that has been accomplished by OTS is entirely due to the service of more than 20 volunteers and the generosity more than 250 unique donors of both medical supplies and financial contributions. Your trust in this organization is a responsibility we do not take lightly. Thank you!
