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Chatham Hope Haven is partnering with volunteer health care professionals to provide easier access to health care for homeless clients it serves.
Published Jun 07, 2026 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 2 minute read
Hope Haven, located in downtown Chatham, will offer a nurse-practitioner-led health clinic every Saturday beginning June 20. (File photo/Chatham Daily News)Article content
Chatham Hope Haven is partnering with volunteer health care professionals to provide easier access to health care for homeless clients it serves.
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General manager Loree Bailey said starting Saturday, June 20, Hope Haven will begin offering a free nurse practitioner-led clinic, called Hope to Health, that will focus on the health needs of the homeless community, including general health assessment, wound care, nutrition, mental health, referrals and “a plethora of other resource navigation.”
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Those being served also can be prescribed non-opioid medications, if needed, she said.
Bailey, who is a nurse, said with an average of 60 to 80 people a day visiting Hope Haven, it is common to see a few people daily who could use some kind of health care.
However, she said many people served by Hope Haven, located at 183 Wellington St. W., have barriers to health care including not having a family doctor or even a health card.
“It’s easier if the service can be there for them versus them having to go find the service.”
Bailey said by having some access to health care available when people come to Hope Haven there’s likely a greater chance a person will accept that offer of help.
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“We wanted to make something that is easy, low-barrier,” she said. “People could still have their health care taken care of in a place where they’re comfortable and they already know everybody.”
There is no funding for this clinic, Bailey said. “This is a just real grassroots initiative.”
She added nurse practitioners, registered nurses and registered practical nurses are stepping up to volunteer their time to make the clinic happen.
“Everybody is exciting and raring to go,” Bailey said.
For now, the clinic will run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays with no appointment needed.
The plan is to increase the service if the need is there, “but right now, the purpose is just to have the service there and available for people,” Bailey said.
“No matter what anyone thinks about the growing homeless epidemic in Chatham-Kent, there is no question that we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist,” she said. “People need compassionate care, they need barrier-free access and that is the goal of this clinic.”
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