Transcript
Speaker: I'm Jane Williams. This is the Red Eye Podcast. You can hear our live broadcast on Saturday mornings from 10 till noon at 100.5 FM in the Lower Mainland.
Speaker: In this episode, Lauren Chisholm speaks with the Victoria physician, Street Dr. Jill, about her new social media series on the health and well-being of homeless people.
Speaker: If you've never been homeless or known someone homeless close up, you, like me, probably have a lot of preconceptions, misunderstandings, and confusion about what it means to live on the street. Street Medicine 101 is here to inform. It's a series of short videos that provides facts and insights into the lives of homeless people and what can help.
Speaker: The videos are lively, friendly, and full of compassion. The video series features Jill Wicharuck, Victoria-based family and yeah ER physician. She specializes in addictions, inner-city family medicine, and emergency medicine. Jill is known to her patients as Street Dr. Jill, and I'm happy to welcome Dr. Jill Wicharuck to Red Eye. Hello, Jill.
Speaker: Hi, thanks for having me, Lorraine. Oh, I love this series, and I am so happy that you could join me. Thank you. I'd like to start out by asking ah about the first of your videos that I became aware of because it it really moved me. It was about generosity and giving money to people on the street. And you debunked some misconceptions about just giving money and also talked to people about not just walking by or not even giving food, a donut or a coffee.
Speaker: Why? Well, by the time I got to that part in the series of videos, there were a lot of people, you know, commenting and um a lot of people were asking, how can I help?
Speaker: Previous to that video, I had done one on how to respond if you see someone that might be homeless and on the street and it looks like they might be in distress, like maybe they're in an awkward position, you're worried, have they overdosed, walking by and how you can, you know, we need people to intervene. And so I was giving some tips to people on how to do that and and people asked how else, you know, how else can we help? And so I realized that, you know, my patients have told me for years, I've i've worked in this field for 15 years. And one of the things people tell me that is the worst is just being not seen. Like, you know, ah having no home, no four walls walls around you, yet having people walk right past you, not give you eye contact.
Speaker: not even acknowledge your humanity. And so I decided to just kind of share a bit of that. Again, i'm taking I'm taking what my patients tell me and trying to give it back to a wider audience. And so that is one of the things that was really important to my patients is just being seen and having people, even even if they're not necessarily given something on the street, but a smile and a warm hello and acknowledgement is can go a long way.
Speaker: And one of the things that I thought was like very helpful to hear was why give money? Because sometimes we might think, oh, if I give money, how are they going to spend it kind of thing?
Speaker: yeah Yeah, and I would certainly um suggest that everyone go and check out the video and watch it in its entirety. But, you know, in a nutshell, really, the thing to remember is that people need choice in life. And choice is what gives people agency, it gives them control. And in a life that is so chaotic, and when you feel a total loss of control, just having a little bit of choice,
Speaker: can make a big difference. And i can assure you that even for people who are homeless who have addictions, and certainly remember, not everyone who's homeless has addictions, but you know there's people that are worried they're just going to use it on drugs. And we know that when people who are unhoused receive money, they know what they need to do with it. And there's actually even been studies done when on um with homeless populations where you give large amounts of money and the majority of those people get themselves out of homelessness on their own.
Speaker: So, yeah, it's about so not being afraid to give money, sometimes even just having a bit of money to go into a coffee shop, stay warm and feel a bit more human can be really beneficial to people.
Speaker: Now, we should back up a little bit. You've been doing this work, as you say, for you know about 15 years as a physician. What is street medicine? Yeah, so street medicine really is meant to just ah meet people where they are at. So when someone is unhoused, there are a whole lot of barriers to receiving care.
Speaker: I mean, you need a phone to make appointments, you need a phone to confirm or change appointments, you know, going into healthcare settings where people Everyone is, um you know, i mean, the shiny doors of a hospital are extremely intimidating for people when they might not have had access to hygiene facilities, even to have showered in the last couple weeks.
Speaker: And they feel very stigmatized often, are often treated very poorly. And for that reason, many people just decide altogether to to not access healthcare because they've had so many awful experiences. Again, the stigma around ah homelessness and and addictions is is huge. And I often say that that kills more more of my patients than any other health condition. but So outreach medicine or street medicine is meeting people where they're at. Sometimes it might be in their tent, it might be on a park bench, it might be in a shelter.
Speaker: It might be on a mobile outreach van, but it's decreasing those barriers so that people can feel comfortable accessing health care. And Jill, what are some of the health issues that you see that are caused by or exacerbated by not having shelter, by being homeless?
Speaker: Yeah, well, there's a lot of them. And again, actually, that was one of the early reels that I put out, homelessness and health So there's there's a lot. Some of the obvious ones, of course, are environmental ah injuries, including frostbite, which leads to amputation often, or trench foot in places where people's feet can just never get dry. like sometimes I actually have patients sometimes that will keep on a pair of boots for literally two months because there is no place where they can take off their boots and dry things out. Right?
Speaker: ah So, I mean, and there's a lot of foot issues, even when there's no wetness, people rarely have good footwear. There's, you know, huge dental issues. Of course, there's a myriad of issues around addictions.
Speaker: Their mental health issues are huge. ah You know, there's trauma. Most people have a history of trauma and have anxiety related to PTSD and depression. There's often psychosis or bipolar disease.
Speaker: And there's all sorts of infections that people need treated. It's it's really, um it I mean, living on the street is extraordinarily bad for your health. In fact, when you are homeless chronically, you can expect to live about 30 years less than the national average.
Speaker: Wow, that's just shocking. It's shocking. You know, and I guess we can all imagine how lousy we feel when we get hit by the flu or or have a more serious diagnosis. But still, we have a roof over our heads and usually have a warm bed and food and so forth.
Speaker: Yeah, and then you have someone, you know, rolling over in their tent in the morning, realizing they have a fever and they feel absolutely awful. Their whole body feels like it was, ah you know, hit with a truck. And they have to decide, do i try to access health care, remembering the awful experience I had last time I was there? If I do that, you know, by law might be around and take all my stuff. Then I will have no tent. I will have no sleep. You know, there's just so many different, like competing priorities for people.
Speaker: it's it's it's hard for It's hard for someone who's never been unhoused to to comprehend. Why did you decide to create this series of short videos?
Speaker: Well, I mean, i have done, I mean, certainly as a physician, Advocacy is a main tenet of our profession. We are medical experts, we're collaborators, we're communicators, and we need to be advocates. And when you work with a population that is so marginalized, that has so little agency, advocacy becomes even more important.
Speaker: And I have the privilege of these letters after my name. And I think that it's important to use that privilege to help foster more compassion. I mean, I feel like these days there is just so much misinformation. There's so much, there's a lack of tolerance. There's moral panic.
Speaker: There's a lot of hatred out there. And i think fostering more compassion just through understanding the issues and helping to educate I think that's how things are going to change. you know i mean I have spoken with politicians for years and yeah you know the I could build a house on the evidence that we have for why homelessness is so bad bad for your health, why you know harm reduction is so important for people with addictions. you know there' there's so There's so much evidence. But politicians do not listen to evidence. They don't listen to experts. They don't listen to research. What they listen to is the voter and public opinion and how they're going to get reelected in four years. And that's why we're in this problem. So I think that if the voters can understand these issues in a more compassionate lens, then I'm hoping that slowly over time, change can be made.
Speaker: Well, one of the things that I see you trying to do is to connect with the the viewers over their thoughts and feelings while challenging the facts and and sharing a more accurate perspective. about A good example, I think, is on ah street sweeps. You know, what might make us feel comfortable and safe, but what are we not seeing? Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, so exactly. You know, I really want people to take a moment and be like, you know, understand why is it that seeing people live on living on the street in encampment is so uncomfortable for people?
Speaker: And many people just breathe a sigh of relief once the encampment is cleared. Yet what people need to understand is that those people that have been cleared from that encampment are now at a much higher risk of death never mind all the other issues and health issues that might come prior to death. But in fact, they're more likely to die in the coming weeks because of that street sweep. It's, I think, understanding ourselves and our own preconceived issues. I think that, you know, i i often, people will say, well, I feel scared when I...
Speaker: pass a homeless encampment. And and i I often ask them to, well, you know, like, let's talk about that. Like, is it is it fear or is it discomfort? Because seeing human suffering is really uncomfortable. Thank God.
Speaker: Thank God it's uncomfortable to see human suffering at that level. But sometimes people might feel that that's fear. But really, it's, I think it's based in discomfort. Yeah.
Speaker: And you pose a question in one of the reels that that many people might ask when they think of homeless people. Why don't they just go to a shelter? Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, and that is, I've heard that for many for many years, right? I mean, the number one reason these days, of course, is that the shelters are full. There are not enough shelter spaces, you know, and then of course you, and and shelters are just so unsafe for so many people.
Speaker: Again, i would i would I would love it if people would take a look at that reel because um it's clearly laid out. But, you know, that women are often, that you know, there's much there's more assaults that happen to women.
Speaker: So there's more assaults that happen in shelters to women. There is also... Trans people are very generally very unsafe in in shelters. There is a lot of racism and there's not a lot of cultural safety for Indigenous people at shelters.
Speaker: And there's theft is rampant. And if you're trying to avoid drugs, there's often a lot of drugs at shelters. And if you Do use drugs. Sometimes there are shelters that don't allow you to use drugs. I mean, there's, there's you know, many patients are couples and they can't access a shelter together and they have to be separated and that's not safe for them. And other other people have pets and they can't go to shelter. The list goes on. There's just so many reasons that shelters do not work for everyone.
Speaker: I imagine, Jill, that many of the questions and topics you come up with echo real-world conversations you've had with people. Am I right? Oh, that's absolutely 100%. Yeah.
Speaker: What are your hopes for how the series might change the conversation and inspire action as well? Well, I do feel very, i feel encouraged by the by what I've seen in the comments.
Speaker: I mean, I had a woman reach out to me from Australia who basically said, you know, you've given me my sister back and she is she's raising her niece. because her sister has an opiate use disorder.
Speaker: and And she said she just stopped having compassion for her sister. But when she listened to how I reframed addiction in in the case of an opiate addiction, just trying to stay out of withdrawal. That is what people are doing when they have a severe opiate addiction. They're trying to stay out of withdrawal. And she said that paradigm shift for shift for her just allowed her, like gave her her sister back. like gave her her compassion again for her sister. And she was so grateful for that. You know, hearing from people with lived experience that say to that say in the comments, you know, I feel seen. Thank you for explaining how it is. Like ah people don't understand. This is so helpful, you know, and healing for me even to see this here. And that is that is really profoundly touching to me and it makes it feel like this is worthwhile work.
Speaker: I believe it's very worthwhile work and i'm I'm very impressed and I really hope a lot of people make the effort to get tuned into it and and watch some of these videos. I'm planning on watching every single one more than once.
Speaker: Well, that sounds great. Well, they are on Instagram and on Facebook and for people who don't want those modalities, we've also uploaded them on YouTube. Street Dr. Jill. Thank you so much, Jill. Take care.
Speaker: Thank you, Lorraine. I've been speaking with Jill Wicheruk. Dr. Wicheruk is a Victoria-based family and yeah ER physician. And as she says, you can find her video series at Street Dr. Jill on Facebook, Instagram, or on YouTube.
Speaker: You've been listening to the Red Eye Podcast, produced by an independent media collective based in Vancouver. If you enjoyed this episode, it would be great if you left a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps other people to find us.
Speaker: Also, please consider sharing this episode with a friend or telling someone about our podcast. To keep up with the show, you can subscribe to Red Eye wherever you listen to your podcasts. And you can follow us on Blue Sky at Red Eye Radio.
Speaker: I'm Jane Williams. Thanks for listening.
