INTERNATIONAL STORY PAGE TITLE Parramatta tomorrow night. [I said to him], ‘Come on down man, we need to see your partner.’” It’s the precarity of people’s living situations that makes ongoing care difficult, despite Street Side Medics’ informal, walk-in, “come as you are” approach. “People are couch surfing or living in temporary accommodation, and some have social housing,” Ballhausen said. You can sense his deeper frustration with the systemic challenges people experiencing homelessness face every day to access their most essential needs. Access to bulk billing, capacity for travel to medical clinics, the cost of specialist consults, documentation requirements, stigma, embarrassment, and a rigidly structured appointment system are just some of the roadblocks that the Street Side Medics team is trying so hard to veer around. “The assumption many of us carry around in our heads is DR HARRISON GARRETT, ROSE AND NURSE KAHLI SILVER. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG ISSUE AUSTRALIA / INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS that primary health care is really accessible, and yet what we’re seeing is how it’s becoming harder and harder to get,” Ballhausen said. “So, you peer into communities, see where they are ready to gather, and say it’s free and no appointment required. You don’t need to tell us who you are let alone have a Medicare card.” Federal Health Minister Mark Butler recently acknowledged that “primary care is in its worst shape since Medicare began”, with basic health care becoming increasingly unaffordable, especially for those on low incomes or with complex conditions. According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, only 35% of specialist consultations were bulk billed in 2020-21, with less affluent people disproportionately affected by these fees. For Dr. Shanthini Seelan, who has been practicing for 25 NURSE KAHLI SILVER CHATS WITH ANTHONY. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG ISSUE AUSTRALIA / INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS years, the visa status of some of her patients prohibits their access to Medicare. At her regular practice in the Sydney suburb of Toongabbie, five different languages are spoken and the clinic is focused on refugee health for Afghan, Sri Lankan, and Iranian arrivals. “I just saw a Sri Lankan refugee,” said Dr. Seelan. “He had a very swollen hand and he doesn’t have access to GPs. It was quite painful for him. “He’s been living here for 12 years. I’ve asked him to come and see me. In Western Sydney, we are very multicultural and we have wall-to-wall GPs that do pro bono care.” Like some of the other doctors who volunteer their time with Street Side medics, Dr. Seelan came across the service through news reports. “I read an article by Dr. Daniel and I was blown away. He is a visionary,” she said. “Dr. Daniel said that you start with sympathy, then empathy and then you go to compassion. Everyone here has the right to decent, safe health care,” she said in a rare moment of quiet between patients. “We don’t judge, and even if it’s a stop-gap or a bandaid ROSE CONSULTS WITH DR HARRISON IN THE VAN. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG ISSUE AUSTRALIA / INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS solution, if it makes your life a little better, then that’s why we’re here. Our patients need someone in their corner who doesn’t judge and who gives them the help they need.” Looking around today, it’s clear that there is a sense of community. A young girl is playing on a swing, volunteers are laughing, pouring hot drinks, or serving up plates, and the patients themselves are unhurried, waiting near or around the van while eating or chatting. It’s a system that the Street Side team plans to roll out nationwide. “Within five years we’ll be in every capital city and every population center,” Dr. Ballhausen said. “We will demonstrate what is possible.” ■ Daniel Nour is an Egyptian Australian writer and journalist whose writing has been featured in the New York Times, SBS Voices, Meanjin Quarterly, and Eureka Street. In 2020, he won the New South Wales Premier’s Young Journalist of the Year Award. Courtesy of The Big Issue Australia / International Network of Street Papers SIENNA AND HER MOTHER, AYESHA. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG ISSUE AUSTRALIA / INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS March 2023 DENVER VOICE 9 VOLUNTEER WITH US! We are looking for volunteers to support our program coordination by helping with paper distribution and basic offi ce administration at the Denver VOICE offi ce (989 Santa Fe Dr.) from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact us at: program@denvervoice.org Need to get rid of your car, truck, or motorcycle? Consider donating it to Denver VOICE. Call (855) 500-7433, or go to: careasy.org/nonprofi t/denver-voice. Your donation helps Denver VOICE succeed in its mission to provide individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty the chance towards a more stable life. The Denver VOICE empowers homeless, impoverished, and transient individuals by creating job opportunities through our vendor program. We facilitate a dialogue addressing the roots of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer economic, educational, and empowerment opportunities for the impoverished community. DONATE YOUR CAR!
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