This year we are doing the most ambitious thing we have ever done: we are building a medical clinic in St. Petersburg where everyone in need can go: homeless people, refugees, undocumented people, and stateless people. We have already rented a room and started repairing it. In February, we launched a crowdfunding campaign on Planeta.ru, where we raise the necessary funds to implement the project. During our first week, we were able to raise over 1 million rubles through small donations from people who cared! We’re not stopping. We are collecting money, tiling the floors and painting the walls, and, of course, treating the sick.
Mobile clinic
In February, we went out 19 times to 25 places where homeless people can get food and shelter and provided medical and social help to 98 patients 149 times. Dressed 39 wounds. No ambulance calls were made.
Accessible communication
Thanks to the joint project of Charity Hospital and Kinonia Club, in February, our patients talked on the phone for 67 minutes.
Medical assistance in shelters
We visited the Malta Shelter 7 times and helped 22 patients 38 times. Performed 19 dressings. Called an ambulance team once.
Glasses
8 pairs of glasses for vision correction and 2 eyeglass cases were given out across all our projects. In February, 2 of our patients visited an optometrist. We thank our partners – optical shops Zrenie, Ocheche, and Raduga, for their help in making and collecting glasses for homeless patients.
Testing
We performed 4 rapid tests for COVID-19 antigens in homeless patients with symptoms of cold, all negative. Tested 53 people for HIV, viral hepatitis B and C, and syphilis and performed blood glucose measurements on 39 patients.
Vaccination
Available at all Mobile Clinic locations free of charge and without any paperwork, thanks to cooperation with district health departments. During the month, we vaccinated 7 people against influenza, 10 people against diphtheria and tetanus, 10 people against hepatitis A, and 12 people against hepatitis B.
Medico-Social Support
Charity Hospital’s staff and volunteers helped patients get help:
– 1 person was admitted to a drug treatment hospital
– 1 person was placed in an oncological dispensary
– 1 person got dental help
– 2 people got a consultation from specialists in a city policlinic
– 7 persons received a remote consultation from a medical specialist
– 8 people restore their Russian Federation passports (jointly with Kinonia)
Outreach
During outreach, we come to those who need help – oftentimes, this is the only way to help desperate people. In February, we went out 8 times and saw 7 patients. An ambulance was called once.
Humanitarian aid
In February, we gave out 2 subway tokens, 16 lifepacks, 10 sleeping bags, 2 walking canes, 2 orthopedic products, 2 sets of intimate hygiene products for women.
SepaRight Waste Collection
In February, we collected medicines for our patients at 17 sites during the campaign of SepaRight Waste Collection. We also collected a needed supply of gauze bandages for our patients, which should be enough for two months!
Also in February:
Собака.ru published a piece on why people live on the streets, how many people are homeless right now, who can really be helped, and how hostile architecture makes people invisible:
Fontanka.ru journalist Alina Ampelonskaya and photographer Mikhail Ognev participated in a Mobile Clinic field trip and talked to doctors about why St. Petersburg needs a charity medical clinic.
There was an article on “Takie dela” about Sergei Ievkov, the Charity Hospital, and the construction of a new clinic for people who have nowhere to get medical care. Thanks to correspondent Natalia Petrovskaya and photographer Olga Padalka.
If you want to help us, you can make a donation of any comfortable amount on our website or make a contribution to the future walls of our clinic.
