Project Highlight: Bringing Health Care to the Homeless

This film follow the efforts of the Mt. Carmel (Columbus, OH) and Mercy Care’s (Atlanta, GA) Street Medicine Teams, part of Trinity Health’s mission to care for the poor and vulnerable within their communities. These teams were recognized with the Catholic Health Association’s Achievement Citation Award in 2019, a testament to their innovation and replicability throughout the country. The Once Films team spent nearly two weeks filming in three cities to capture the teams as they performed their work, with an eye to sensitivity and human dignity. We were careful to respect privacy and HIPAA laws, going slow, and gaining the support of those we met. This project was impactful and helped build a lot of empathy and understanding for us, and again for those that watch.

The challenges of the homeless are deeper than we often realize, and a fundamental component of living is reliable health care. While the need to care for the homeless is obvious, the street-level perspective of the practitioners is eye-opening. 

We spent two weeks on location in Columbus and Atlanta to capture the efforts of the Mt. Carmel Health and Mercy Care Atlanta Street Medicine Teams—part of Trinity Health’s mission to care for the poor and vulnerable within their communities. These teams were recognized with the The Catholic Health Association of the United States Achievement Citation Award, a testament to their innovation and replicability throughout the country.