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In 2018, building on our work in CBOs, we launched a ground-breaking mobile pop-up drop-in center model, where we literally brought harm reduction therapy and hospitality (in the form of comfortable seating, canopies, and a mobile kitchen) directly to people in the places they live and congregate. Our pop-ups in 6 neighborhoods became a magnet for hundreds of people and many other providers. In a year, we had become a mobile multi-disciplinary “clinic without walls” with the infrastructure to feed and provide treatment to 100’s of people a week. We connected with over 1600 new people in the first year.
Why does this work? By bringing things that people really need – water, food, hygiene and first aid supplies, harm reduction equipment and advice, Narcan – and by opening our arms to them without conditions, we’ve connected with over 2000 people. We have developed ongoing relationships with more than 50% of the people we have met.
Our attention to the basic foundations of health and wellbeing have supported the development of deep therapeutic relationships. We attracted so many people that our sites became hubs for other medical and social services providers such as San Francisco’s Street Medicine team, Glide’s Hepatitis/STI testing and harm reduction supply van, The AIDS Foundation’s Needle Pickup Crew, Care Through Touch street massage, Slowpoke Acupuncture, and the Coalition on Homelessness and Bay Area Legal AID for legal services (seized possessions; SSI advocacy). Within six months, we were operating several multi-service drop-in centers per week. All with a team of 8 therapists and a kitchen crew!
We created an atmosphere where typically overlooked or shunned people felt valued and taken care of, even loved. It is in the presence of such warmth and genuine concern that people begin to think about themselves and their actions, about what is working for them and what isn’t. In the words of one young person at one of our sites, “I come here every week and I’m starting to feel motivated to think about my drug use. The way you care about me makes me want to start caring about myself.” From this and hundreds of other acknowledgments, we know our message is coming through loud and clear.