A community of 53 drop-ins and allied members throughout Toronto
Toronto Drop-In NetworkStreet Clinic Outreach for Unsheltered Torontonians
Street Clinic Outreach for Unsheltered Torontonians
Posted on: May 2, 2021
In August 2020 Inner City Health Associates (ICHA) launched the SCOUT Team (Street Clinic Outreach for Unsheltered Torontonians), a mobile outreach team serving unsheltered individuals. SCOUT provides episodic and transitional healthcare for unsheltered people directly where they are living (e.g. encampments, ravines, under bridges, sidewalks). We strive to provide clinical care that is patient-centred, trauma-informed, and harm reduction focused. From August through to March SCOUT has been serving individuals at the city's largest encampments. We now have increased capacity and a referral pathway open to all frontline workers.
If you are working with someone who is experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Downtown Toronto and wants a nurse or family doctor to come to visit them we would love to connect and have a conversation about how we can support them. We are open to referrals outside the downtown core, but have more limited capacity to provide supports.
Who can refer? Any outreach, peer, or frontline worker (paid or volunteer) can refer an individual to SCOUT.
Who can be seen by the SCOUT? Anyone who is experiencing unsheltered homelessness. (Living in encampments, ravines, under bridges, sidewalks, stairwells etc. Not in Shelters or Respites) AND Wants to connect with Family Doctor or Nurse about a Physical or Mental Health Concern
What can SCOUT do for my client? Common issues that we assess and treat include skin and soft tissue infections, cold and wet weather injury, wound care, mental health, substance use, sexual health, and connection to primary care. We are certainly not limited to the above issues though. In addition, our team leverages community resources to offer connections to primary and prenatal care, advocacy and support accessing shelter, housing, long term case management, and ID restoration.
Who is SCOUT? The SCOUT Team currently consists of Dr. Johnny Wong and nurses Elizabeth Harrison, Dana Maclean and Megan Lowry. Note that we are not case managers, housing workers, or a crisis intervention team. SCOUT cannot provide acute medical intervention or crisis supports. We would love to collaborate with frontline workers to provide medical and nursing supports to clients.
How do I refer someone to SCOUT?
Discuss SCOUT with the individual you wish to refer. Get their consent and as much information as possible about where we will be able to find them/ how we can contact them. If there are workers they connect with regularly (at drop-in or CTS, for example) ask if SCOUT has their permission to contact that person -- this info will help us connect with people in a timely manner.
Fill out the SCOUT form linked here: bit.ly/scouttoronto Note: this form does not include private health information about the person you are referring -- it lets us know how/when we can contact you to complete the referral over the phone.
A member of the SCOUT team will call you back to complete the referral over the phone. We are aiming for a quick turnaround on this.
If the referral meets our eligibility criteria, the SCOUT team will attempt to make contact with the referred individual to offer support. Sometimes we may try to plan a warm handoff where the person who refers introduces us to the individual.
For more information, please contact;
Megan Lowry, RN Outreach Nurse SCOUT Team (Street Clinical Outreach for Unsheltered Torontonians) Inner City Health Associates (ICHA)
The Toronto Drop-In Network (TDIN) is an active member-based coalition of 59 organizations that run at least 56 diverse drop-in centres across the city of Toronto. Our members work with people who are homeless, marginally housed, or socially isolated, including men, women, transgender and non-binary people, youth and seniors.
Toronto Drop-In Network | 260 Augusta Avenue Toronto, ON, M5T 2L9 | 416-824-4172
Thank you for signing up. We will review your profile information as soon as possible. You will receive an email confirmation when your profile is approved.
