For the thousands of homeless New Yorkers who live on the city's streets, Project Renewal's comprehensive approach to moving individuals into homes and jobs often starts with the offer of food, a shower, a bed, short-term treatment for addiction and primary medical care. We therefore run a range of "low-demand" programs so as to be able to meet people where they are and take them to the next step in their recovery.

Working in the city's shelter system, in drop-in centers, and on the streets Project Renewal's SHARP team focuses on helping active drug addicts and alcoholics take the first step toward recovery. SHARP counselors reach out to addicts, assess their readiness to give up drugs and alcohol and offer them a range of community based treatment programs.

Our fully outfitted MedVan provides professional primary medical care to homeless people 'where they are' - on the streets, in shelters, at soup kitchens and at drop-in centers. Equipped with two fully operational examining rooms and staffed by a team that includes a physician, social worker, nurse practitioner, a pharmacist, a psychiatrist and driver/aide, the MedVan was among the first mobile medical units serving homeless people in the country when it started operations in 1986. Today, it is a national model and offers preventative, urgent and HIV/AIDS services in addition to primary care. In 2005, the MedVan provided healthcare to nearly 3,500 homeless New Yorkers.

See what WABC said about the MedVan (32K .doc)

Our Mobile Psychiatric Teams function as traveling psychiatric clinics, serving clients in the city's voluntary (privately operated) shelters and drop-in centers. The team includes a psychiatrist, a physician's assistant/nurse practitioner, a nurse, and a driver/aide and is coordinated by a psychiatric nurse. The team is equipped to evaluate and fully treat homeless mentally ill men and women - including medication monitoring - as well as consult with appropriate shelter staff.