New health care opportunity for those experiencing homelessness and needing medical help
Trinity Anglican Church in Barrie now offers a new clinic that provides dignified health care to those experiencing homelessness or needing medical attention.
Compassionate Care without Barriers offers services to anyone without a health care provider, but word of the program is spreading slowly.
Brad Miskenack has been homeless for almost two years and says the program sounds good.
- Download the CTV News app free to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
"I don't have a doctor; I don't have any medical or health care, nothing, so that's perfect in case something happens," he said.
The clinic is currently only available on Monday mornings.
Jo-Anne Flood came up with the idea after working with the vulnerable community for years, including the Busby Centre.
"I could see the need just going out handing out sandwiches or whatever, people with coughs and colds and cuts and infections and that type of thing," Flood shared.
Brenda Brown is the nurse practitioner who volunteers for the program.
"See a lot of right now who are just triggering and are just about to fall into homelessness. It's just one paycheck away sometimes if you have someone who can validate your illness, validate that you do have a problem, that goes a long way to healing," said Brown.
Nick French, who once experienced homelessness, believes this program will have a significant impact.
"I think it's huge," he said. "They actually care like Brenda and Jo-Anne. The rest of the people involved they actually care. Lots of people are grateful this is here."
Appointments with Compassionate Care without Barriers can be made via email or by calling 705-417-2763.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.