LYNNWOOD, Wash. — What began as a conversation between two churches in 2016 has become one of the largest free mobile clinics helping the homeless in Western Washington.
"The organization is MercyWatch. We do street medicine and homeless outreach," said Dennis Kelly, Director of MercyWatch. "Today we are at Lynnwood Hygiene Center run by the Jean Kim Foundation here in Lynnwood."
Kelly says there is no black-and-white answer to what causes homelessness.
“Homelessness is complicated," Kelly said. "I think a lot of people want to say that homelessness is an addiction issue, or heroin usage, or fentanyl or what have you. And yeah, there is that, but it's also untreated mental health issues. And it's also a high degree of poverty. The challenge with the unhoused and I think this is really important is they're not the type of person that are going to come into an appointment. So, you got to meet them where they are. When they see our medical van is here, they then will come and if they have medical needs to talk to our nurses or doctors that are on site."
MercyWatch covers basic medical needs, patients who are beyond those basic needs are sent to the ED at Providence or Swedish.
The organization is 100% run by volunteers, many of which have backgrounds in the healthcare industry.
"I would say most of our volunteers come from medical professions that were either at Providence or Swedish. We have a number of retired, but we also have a number of hospitalists that are currently working that also volunteer with us," said Kelly.
"Providence Swedish actually helped us in many ways to get launched, providing us with funding and that sort of thing."
"I think everyone feels the need to help with homelessness here in the Puget Sound area," said Kelly. "And this is a way that medical professionals in particular can do their part to try to alleviate some of the misery that's found here on the streets."
For groups like the Jean Kim Foundation, MercyWatch's work provides a critical need.
"It's invaluable. And I would even go as far as to say it's lifesaving," said Sandra Mears Director at the Jean Kim Foundation.
"People have been really positive about what we do," Kelly said. "I think they appreciate an organization that is all volunteer-based because our mission isn't to make money. Our mission is to help people who are struggling right now."
If you would like to volunteer to help MercyWatch more information can be found here.
Sponsored by Providence Swedish