Street Medicine: When Homeless People Can’t Access Healthcare

In this episode, I sit down with Brett Feldman, one of my all-time favorite people and a national leader addressing homelessness through street medicine. Brett directs USC Street Medicine, which provides healthcare in Los Angeles to homeless people living unsheltered under bridges, in riverbeds, and in encampments because for many people experiencing homelessness, reaching a clinic is impossible. Over the years, we have worked closely together, including traveling to four cities across California to follow and document street medicine teams serving homeless communities. In this conversation, Brett explains why outreach alone does not work, how street medicine improves housing outcomes, and why treating homelessness as a public health issue matters. We also talk about why street medicine does not just save lives. It saves taxpayer money by reducing emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and preventable public health crises. If you care about homelessness, public health, or real solutions that work in Los Angeles and beyond, this episode matters. PLAYLIST: Street Medicine in California: Health Care to Homeless People https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL51CPD51hq2SUwXSPw3cHNE9jsxN_62t-&si=M0tZiHwjsxev1YV0 We Can't Let Homeless People Die: USC Street Medicine on Skid Row https://youtu.be/RWVt_arzYoA?si=B4Yxdoos82aOosA8 Please take a minute to fill out our short listener survey at https://invisiblepeople.tv/podsurvey. It helps us improve the podcast and reach more people with stories that matter. More: From Encampments to Homes: How Dallas Is Solving Homelessness https://youtu.be/iG4afD_ycLk?si=TBS-G16xTpV3KiiR Executive producer: Mark Horvath Producer/editor/cinematographer: Alex Gasaway https://www.youtube.com/alexgasaway Associate producer: Erin McGinnis Created by: Alex Gasaway and Erin McGinnis YouTube Podcast https://shorturl.at/XciIu Apple Podcast https://apple.co/4cckQ86 Spotify https://spoti.fi/3XyM98c ================================== Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/c/invisiblepeople?sub_confirmation=1 Invisible People’s website: http://invisiblepeople.tv Support Invisible People: https://invisiblepeople.tv/donate Sign up for our newsletter: https://invisiblepeople.tv/email Invisible People’s Social Media: https://www.youtube.com/invisiblepeople https://twitter.com/invisiblepeople https://www.instagram.com/invisiblepeople https://www.facebook.com/invisiblepeopletv https://www.tiktok.com/@invisiblepeopletv About Invisible People There is a direct correlation between what the general public perceives about homelessness and how it affects policy change. Most people blame homelessness on the person experiencing it instead of the increasing shortage of affordable housing, lack of employment, childhood trauma, lack of a living wage, or the countless reasons that put a person at risk. This lack of understanding creates a dangerous cycle of misperception that leads to the inability to effectively address the root causes of homelessness.