Peter

Peter is a staunch advocate for issues effecting people experiencing homelessness and a regular at Project Renewal’s MedVan. He has lived without housing in Manhattan for most of the last 30 years. The stress of dealing with chronic homelessness has taken its toll on his body, causing him to suffer from diabetes, adrenaline tremors, cataracts, glaucoma, and a bone infection in his foot.

Peter first heard about Project Renewal in 2009 when our psychiatric outreach team visited a drop-in shelter where he worked. Two years later, when he lost his job and became homeless again, he began visiting our mobile medical units. Now he visits once a month for check-ups, medication, supplies, and referrals to specialists, like our shelter-based dentist.

“A lot of homeless people don’t trust hospitals,” Peter explains. “Project Renewal is different. They treat you with dignity, like a human being. I recommend it to people all the time.”

As a member of Project Renewal’s patient advisory board, Peter is also helping to make the mobile medical units better. The board meets with MedVan staff monthly, to give feedback and ensure that services are adapting to patients’ evolving needs.

While Peter continues helping other New Yorkers access health care and housing, he hopes to move into a permanent home soon too. “I’m grateful to Project Renewal for helping me be in a position with my health where I can think about my future,” he says.