From the Front Lines: When the prescription is a safe place to sleep
Dear Friends,
My Dad always told me that you can learn a lot about a community by the way it cares for its most vulnerable. I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently, now that dramatic Medicaid restrictions have started going into effect. At BCP, we know firsthand that our country’s existing systems, intended to care for our least fortunate, are already strained to a breaking point, already tolerating intolerable outcomes.
Last month, many of you joined us for BCP’s Voices From the Front Lines gala, where we shared patient voices about the effects of a broken system. You can listen to a few of those stories here.
With such a tenuous safety net, what will the full impact of these healthcare cuts look like? Despite the ever-changing political landscape, here at BCP we are already seeing hardworking families lose their fragile hold on foundational elements of health–things like housing, food, and childcare.
Today, I’d like to give you a deeper look at their harrowing experiences-and BCP’s dynamic response. It is a reminder that although this crisis is becoming all too familiar – it doesn’t have to be this way.
It is Tuesday, September 1st. Mom and her three beautiful children, ages 3, 4, and 5, arrive at BCP, not knowing where they will stay that night. They can no longer stay in the one room they have been renting for months, and they have nowhere to go. BCP immediately connects them to the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), which provides emergency shelter placement. One of BCP’s Family Partners gives them her cell phone number just in case. When Mom and kids visit the DTA office and fill out the necessary forms, DTA informs them that they cannot help Mom right away. They need more paperwork that Mom does not have, including a bank statement. And, because it is not cold enough yet, their impending homelessness does not constitute an “emergency, ” and they send them away.
Mom and children–with a suitcase and a few bags–go to a park bench, where they expect to spend the night. But, because they have the cell phone number of one of our Family Partners, that does not happen. A few hours later, they call. Our care navigation team is ready. BCP’s Director of Care Navigation and Wellness spends her evening arranging a motel room, coordinating getting the family there by Uber, and ensuring that they have food for the night.
Because, to us, having a mom and her small children sleep in a park is unacceptable, no matter what the temperature.
The next morning, Mom and her children return to BCP to work on gathering all of the paperwork that is needed for shelter placement. Again, Mom visits the DTA office, while our staff calls and emails government agencies, asking for support in expediting the shelter placement for this family. At the end of the day, there is still missing paperwork, and therefore they cannot be placed in a shelter. Thankfully, we have just received prepared meals from Temple Beth Elohim, so our Medical Director heats them up. Three very small kids eat five whole meals. Then, Mom cleans up dinner, and BCP secures the family another night at the motel.
This cycle continues–for days. Now, it’s a long weekend, and nothing can be done–DTA is closed.
On September 8th, after the long weekend, Mom and children return to BCP. It has been a full week since they lost their housing. Each day, there are new obstacles: A bank statement that Mom goes to the bank to get, but it is ultimately not the right statement. A form that is filled out incorrectly.
Usually, they return around 5 pm, and different staff members serve them dinner and read to the children, while Mom meets with our care navigation team before they return to the motel. Eventually, a BCP staff member personally accompanies Mom to the bank and insists that Mom is given access to the statement that is needed to prove that Mom’s bank account is, in fact, empty.
After 10 days, Mom and the children are finally approved for shelter–but first, the state requires a “health and wellness” check–despite the fact that this family has already been practically living with their pediatrician. The health and wellness check is conducted by an outside agency and takes place at BCP’s office.
Another day comes and goes, and still, they have not been assigned to a shelter.
Only after 14 days are Mom and her children placed in a shelter, due in no small part to the unyielding dedication of their team at BCP.
The reality is that our existing system is not working. It cannot respond fast enough to real-time crises. It is understaffed and underfunded–with significant and traumatic consequences for children and families.
In these moments, I think of my Dad’s words and wonder: What does it say about us, as a society, that we are willing to let children sleep on a park bench?
We may all find ourselves in crisis at one point in our lives, whether it is a lost job, a sick family member, or a mental health struggle. And in those moments, we all need a support system–someone who will go to bat for us and our children, who will drop everything and open their doors.
At BCP, we are that support system.
In the midst of those 14 difficult days, a new BCP staff member sent me a note. She said she’d never seen anything like this: an entire team of health care professionals, well beyond traditional office hours, taking turns to support a family in need–whether by reading books to the children or preparing a meal. I have never been more proud of the community that BCP has built–a community that intuitively knew how to show up for this family and did what needed to be done. This is The BCP Way.
As we move into the holiday season and the cold weather, I hope we are all asking ourselves what we can do to care for our most vulnerable neighbors. Whether it’s donating food or warm clothing, supporting a family or friend in need, or volunteering our time, we can all make a difference. Let’s turn our compassion into action and show up for those who need us most.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robyn Riseberg
Founder, Boston Community Pediatrics
Stay tuned for further updates from the front lines, and do not hesitate to send us your questions, thoughts, and feedback.
