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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.