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Medical Clinic and HIV Specialty Clinic
Everyone deserves good health. Kids especially should be able to count
on the vigor of youth to carry them through hard times. However, any significant
time spent living on the street precludes physical well-being, even for
previously healthy young people. The lack of shelter, the stress of street
life, the inability to stay clean—these make young people on the street more
susceptible to illness than the rest of us. Because they are often forced into
the sex trade in order to survive, or driven to substance abuse to abate their
despair, homeless youth are also susceptible to more serious health
issues like tuberculosis, hepatitis, and HIV infection.
Larkin Street Youth Services targets all of these problems while also promoting general wellness and prevention with our Medical Clinic. Operated in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the Clinic is conveniently located next door to the Drop-In Center, which is many kids’ first contact with our services. With a full staff including a Medical Doctor, two family Nurse Practitioners, two Registered Nurses, and a Medical Assistant, the Medical Clinic serves any of our young clients who need medical attention. The Clinic is open five days a week and does not require an appointment. On a drop-in basis, youth come for physicals, pregnancy tests, TB and Hepatitis screening, and prescriptions. They also receive treatment for common illnesses that would otherwise go unaddressed until they progressed to serious levels, possibly requiring more painful and expensive emergency treatment. Care is delivered respectfully with specialized knowledge of the challenges faced by young people on the streets. This approach builds trust that leads youth to seek further services offered by LSYS. A very important corollary to the Medical Clinic is the HIV Specialty Clinic which is also operated in conjunction with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. LSYS has a well-developed HIV prevention program, but for those who are already infected, we offer state-of-the-art medical care targeted specifically to youth who must manage their HIV status while also rebuilding their lives after homelessness. Young people at the HIV Specialty Clinic gain more than simple health care, however. We also provide treatment advocacy to make sure they receive all the services they need, medication monitoring to ensure that they are sticking to the drug regimens that keep them strong, and access to clinical trials that provide new treatments that may eventually help other youth struggling to recover from life on the streets.
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