Hundreds of unsheltered people got free checkups Tuesday in Escondido at the fifth annual Community Healthcare Day.
The event was held at Interfaith Community Services in partnership with Outreach Impacting Lives and Neighborhood Healthcare.
Events such as these are critical because people experiencing homelessness often do not seek care at clinics because they feel judged, said Christian Absi, a physician assistant with the Neighborhood Healthcare street medicine team.
“I think health care is a human right,” he said.
For most people, getting blood drawn or a simple checkup may be routine. But for unsheltered individuals, that can be life-changing.
“I think being able to have an event like this to help really addresses a lot of — not only their health care needs, but the needs as a whole, as a human being,” Absi said.
That includes treating not only the symptoms, but also providing the supportive care to go with it. Absi was treating a man who had a wound on his foot. He asked if the man needed shoes or socks.
“You have to think about the barriers that these people face,” he said. “He might have been walking on his bare feet for quite a while, maybe not have access to socks or any new shoes.”
In addition to medical and dental care, people at the event had access to showers, clothes, veterinary care for pets and haircuts.
Noah Carroll, a student at Stay Fresh Barber, was one of the barbers who stepped in at the last minute to volunteer. He and a few of his classmates answered the call when the barbers originally scheduled couldn’t make it.
He said the haircuts gave people, some of whom have not had one in years, their confidence back.
“Before somebody gets a haircut, they could be going from quiet, not saying much during the haircut to being — oh, they pull out their phone, take a selfie or they just compliment you nonstop after the haircut,” he said.
Helping people feel whole again was what this event was about, said Ana Chavez, a medical assistant and lead peer support specialist at Neighborhood Healthcare.
“We're breaking those barriers for people that really aren't able to come in (on an) everyday basis to these services,” she said. “We're providing a day especially for them to come and, you know, be where they're made to feel human again. Take that dehumanization away.”
People at the event were also fed and given backpacks stuffed with essential housing supplies.
“The need is huge, and it keeps growing every year,” said Chrysta Klaczyk, with Outreach Impacting Lives.
Organizers expected about 200 people, but more than 350 showed up, underscoring just how great the need was.
