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Street Outreach Teams of Detroit, Michigan, work to connect unhoused residents of the city to health care and support services, wherever they are. (Photo by GET Creative)
Editor’s note: This story was first published here. Video by GET Creative, for The Pfizer Foundation and Direct Relief, Article by Melissa Karns, for The Pfizer Foundation and Direct Relief
In the heart of Detroit, a city marked by resilience and struggle, a team of dedicated volunteers takes to the streets, providing critical medical care to those who need it most. The work is relentless, but for the people at Street Outreach Teams, every interaction is an opportunity to change a life.
Led by Stanley Stinson, a nurse whose own past was shaped by homelessness, this initiative — supported by The Pfizer Foundation and Direct Relief — is bridging the gap between essential health care services and the people who are often left behind. Street Outreach Teams’ work understands that every individual without a stable home has a story. They are people who deserve care, dignity, and the chance for a better future.
The Birth of Street Outreach Teams
Nurse Stanley Stinson of Street Outreach Teams checks on an unhoused resident of Detroit during rounds. The groups helps unhoused people connect to health services and other support. (Photo by GET Creative)
For Stinson, this mission is deeply personal. “I grew up homeless,” he said. “So that directly affected me wanting to help other people.”
His firsthand experience with life on the streets gave him unique insight into the struggles of accessing medical care. He saw how small barriers, such as missing a clinic appointment due to a lack of transportation, could lead to serious, even life-threatening consequences.
When he noticed that many people were unable to make it to health care facilities, he decided to take care to them. And, what started as a simple effort — distributing food and basic necessities like blankets — quickly evolved into a full-scale medical outreach program.
Today, the program treats infections, provides essential wound care, administers vaccines, and more, ensuring that people experiencing homelessness can receive help that might otherwise be out of reach.
Power of Volunteers
Volunteers are at the heart of Street Outreach Teams’ work. (Photo by GET Creative)
Unlike traditional health care organizations, Street Outreach Teams operates with an all-volunteer staff, a model that fosters deep commitment and personal connection.
“Volunteers come out because they want to,” Stinson said. “They’re not doing it for a paycheck. They’re driven by passion and compassion, and it just attracts a different type of person.”
This approach helps enhance both the quality and consistency of care. Many of the people that the team serves have been let down by the system before. They’ve encountered health care providers who dismissed them, social services that failed them, and shelters that didn’t feel safe.
But, seeing familiar faces week after week builds trust, an essential foundation for effective outreach, explained Stinson.
“Our people are committed,” he said. “That helps the people that we’re serving because they’re not going to see a different face every time, and they don’t have to make a new relationship.”
Building Trust, One Visit at a Time
Street Outreach Teams offers mobile services to different neighborhoods across Detroit. (Photo by GET Creative)
One of the biggest barriers to care is trust. Many experiencing homelessness have been dismissed or mistreated by health care systems, reinforcing a cycle of neglect.
Betsy, a pediatric nurse and long-time Street Outreach volunteer, echoes this sentiment.
“It doesn’t really take very much to make a big difference in people’s lives,” she said. “I think the consistency in being able to show up for people with tangible items, and especially for groups of people who are often overlooked,”
From the Streets to Stability
The Street Outreach Teams en route during medical rounds. (Photo by GET Creative)
While medical care is their primary focus, Street Outreach Teams also help people navigate the complicated system of social services.
“We had one guy who didn’t have an ID, a birth certificate, anything,” Stinson said. Street Outreach brought in a housing specialist to the abandoned house, and she ordered his birth certificate on the spot.
“It arrived at her office because he had nowhere to send it,” said Stinson, adding that it allowed the unhoused man to apply for benefits and eventually find housing.
Betsy, who works alongside Stanley, recounts another remarkable case.
“We got a call that someone had been shot. We weren’t far, so we responded,” she said. The woman had a gunshot wound to the chest, but was stable.
Thanks to a resident physician on their team, they transported her to the hospital, where the trauma team was ready.
She survived.
Later, the woman got housed, got clean, and had a baby. Today, she’s doing great.
A Community Effort
The Pfizer Foundation and Direct Relief play a critical role in supporting this work.
“We couldn’t do what we do without them,” Stinson said. “The Pfizer Foundation helped us secure our vehicle — honestly, a dream come true.”
Direct Relief supplies many of the team’s medications, wound care supplies, and over-the-counter treatments.
“Trust is key in order to reach people facing the greatest barriers to care. Street Outreach Teams, thanks to their deep-rooted connections, have earned that trust, and Direct Relief is privileged to support their work,” said Katie Lewis, Direct Relief’s U.S. Regional Director of Programs.
“It’s amazing because we could never afford to provide vitamins or PPE (personal protective equipment) at the scale that we do without their help,” Stinson said.
Why It Matters
Despite the challenges, Stinson remains committed.
“Everybody has value,” he said. “It’s easy to turn your back on homelessness when it’s not affecting you. All these people are real people.”
Street Outreach Teams isn’t just about treating wounds or handing out food. It’s about restoring dignity, building trust and creating pathways toward stability. Each interaction, no matter how small, has the potential to change a life.
A Call to Action
As Detroit continues to evolve, addressing homelessness is key. Programs like Street Outreach prove that innovative, community-driven solutions can make a real difference. But, lasting change requires collective effort, such as volunteers, donors, policymakers and everyday citizens working together to ensure that no one is left behind.
By meeting people where they are, the team in Detroit is proving that even small acts of care can ripple outward, creating a stronger, more compassionate city — one person at a time.
Giving is Good Medicine
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