Every Tuesday night, following their regular work day at Neighborhood Health Center, Project Manager Sara Pisa and Community Health Worker Jesus Linares Jr. walk the streets of Buffalo with one goal in mind: to connect Buffalo’s homeless population with primary healthcare. 

Sara and Jesus are joined by representatives from UB HEALS and the Matt Urban Center for this street outreach initiative. UB HEALS is a University at Buffalo student-led program that provides small-scale medical attention, as well as blankets and some other basic necessities. The Matt Urban Center helps connect people with housing assistance services. 

Neighborhood Health Center has been an established Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH) provider since 2012 and is one of more than 200 programs nationwide that is federally funded to specifically serve individuals experiencing homelessness. Neighborhood’s HCH program provides access to comprehensive primary care, oral health, mental health and substance use services, as well as supportive community health services at no cost to the patient.  

“Knowing that these folks often have a much harder time flowing through the medical system…it becomes a very individualized care experience,” explained Sara.

Neighborhood has been conducting street outreach for the HCH program for about a decade. Sara and Jesus specifically have been working on outreach together for nearly one year. HCH street outreach has looked different over the years. For Sara and Jesus, the relationship building aspect is at the forefront of their Tuesday night outreach. 

“Jesus and I are not clinical. So a lot of what we do is just getting folks here (Neighborhood Health Center) and connected to primary care.” said Sara. “The greatest thing we can give them is healthcare.”

It takes a lot of commitment from Sara and Jesus to successfully connect homeless individuals with primary care at Neighborhood. It is highly unlikely that someone experiencing homelessness will immediately trust them enough to make an appointment or accept any help at all. Their commitment to going out every Tuesday night, with no promise of outcome, and their dedication to connecting with those that they encounter every week is very significant to the success of the HCH program; and to the amount of people that are getting connected to necessary healthcare. 

“It could take up to 200 encounters with someone for them to finally accept care, and that could be for a number of reasons,” explained Sara. “It’s building trust. They see us every week, they know what organization we are from, and it is important that they feel comfortable and safe with us.” 

This building of trust doesn’t end when Sara and Jesus successfully schedule someone for an appointment. While individuals may come to trust and be comfortable with Sara and Jesus, it is important that the care experience at Neighborhood aligns with the same welcoming and friendly attitude that they show during street outreach. 

“A lot of times that is me and Jesus meeting the person at the front door when we know they are going to be there,” said Sara. “There have been times when we’ve met the person at the door, walked them to check-in, and communicated with providers and nursing staff about the situation and any of the patient’s needs.” 

Sara has been a project manager with Neighborhood Health Center for about one and a half years. Most of the work she does centers around turning grant-funded projects into long-term sustainable programs at Neighborhood. Having done street outreach for a year now, she has really come to connect with many people. There is one patient in particular that she has built trust with and assists him in accessing care despite the barriers he faces. Being on this patient’s release of information, Sara is able to go to the Neighborhood Health Center Pharmacy, pick up his medication for him, and will then bring it to him during street outreach nights. 

“Being able to just know that the work that we do has made some kind of a difference…” explained Sara. “I feel emotionally invested in the wellbeing of the people we connect with.” 

Jesus began his Neighborhood Health Center career in the role of Patient Service Representative at Neighborhood’s front desk. He then moved into the role of Community Health Worker (CHW). CHWs like Jesus focus on assisting and connecting patients with necessary social supports such as housing assistance, insurance enrollment, and more. The majority of the CHW work that Jesus specifically does is with HCH and refugee patients. 

“Working with the homeless population in Buffalo really changed my mindset,” said Jesus. “A lot of people will walk past homeless people. The way I see it is, a lot of these people need ears.”

Jesus expressed how much of the work he does begins with understanding that each person he encounters, whether through HCH or through his other CHW interactions, has gone through their own personal challenges. Many Neighborhood Health Center patients face barriers and it is important for that to be at the forefront of all patient care. He also explained how being  immersed in the world of street outreach allows him to see what barriers and what individualized care could look like for different people.

“I really do think that one of Jesus’ greatest strengths is being able to connect with people,” said Sara. “We have had patients that will come into Mattina and specifically ask for Jesus, because they trust him.” 

The HCH program is a strong representation of Neighborhood’s missions and values. Neighborhood believes that everyone deserves equal access to high-quality healthcare. With Sara and Jesus going out into the community and meeting people where they are at, they work to carry out that mission. They also expressed the ways in which they feel supported by Neighborhood and their fellow ambassadors. The HCH program involves a great amount of teamwork and that goes beyond Sara and Jesus. Many other ambassadors are involved in this process, like the front desk, nurses, medical assistants, and providers. Their work and support of the HCH program, and their respect for the work that Sara and Jesus do through the program really shows through in the overall HCH care experience. 

“I always say it’s not the name that makes the people, it’s the people that make the name,” said Jesus, about Neighborhood Health Center. 

Thank you to Sara and Jesus, and every Neighborhood ambassador that makes Neighborhood Health Center the compassionate, equitable, and high-quality healthcare organization that it is. 

If you or someone you know is living on the street, shelter, transitional housing, staying with friends or family temporarily, in a permanent supportive housing facility, or has experienced any of the arrangements above in the last year and is in need of primary and preventive care (and/or in need of a referral to supportive services), contact our HCH team at 716-242-8615 or stop by one of our offices.