I’ve seen patients along a whole spectrum, from those who are homeless to those who have been housed. We continue to see patients at Transitions to Wellness even if they become housed in order to create stability and a continuity of care. COVID-19 is creating lots of unemployment, a lot of financial distress. Many patients I have worked with have had something equivalent to the virus happen to them already, in terms of severity and upheaval. So there is a lot of anxiety right now, among patients and among my colleagues as well. A couple of weeks ago one of my colleagues went out to test a patient who was symptomatic. This patient tested positive and died two days later. It was a sad turn of events. This had a huge impact on my colleague. He is still going out there to help patients, but he has had his own share of anxiety about getting patients the care that they need. On the other end of the spectrum, COVID-19 has prompted more intervention to get people off the street. I have been able to refer two patients to go into temporary housing. I spoke with one of them recently; this person had taken a bath for the first time in 20 years after being unhoused for that long. It’s my ability to help my patients and my colleagues that truly keeps me going. That’s what helps me to do the work that I’m doing. Being able to profoundly help people with an opportunity for a magnitude of change has been my inspiration over and over throughout my career.
