TCOM students connect with Fort Worth’s homeless

Project Homeless Connect was a win-win situation: TCOM student volunteers got some hands-on experience, and Fort Worth’s homeless population got some much-needed healthcare.

The program, held at Broadway Baptist Church near downtown on April 19, connected more than 400 homeless men and women with nearly 50 community agencies that provided services such as employment assistance, adult education courses and health screenings…that’s where our students made a difference.

Volunteers from the Classes of 2007, 2009 and 2010 provided physical examinations and addressed each patient’s individual health concerns. The students encountered a lot of expected problems: high blood pressure and respiratory infections. They also diagnosed more serious problems. They caught a heart murmur in one patient and gave him the information he needed to get it checked out at a local hospital.

The experience was particularly valuable to the first- and second-year students who don’t spend much time outside the classroom, said Diana Villazana-Kretzer, TCOM Class of 2009. She said volunteer opportunities like this teach students how to communicate with patients as well as treat them … and how to keep an open mind, which is especially important when working with the homeless.

Patients responded well to the students’ care. Event coordinators said that many of them commented on how much they appreciated the services that our students provided.

Project Homeless Connect was sponsored by the City of Fort Worth and the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Homelessness. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief was in attendance, as well as Philip F. Mangano, executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

TCOM Class of 2007 Shannon Peterson Danielle Burkett

TCOM Class of 2009 Rachael McCracken Lori Stuart Kate Barron Anthony Archer John Moreno Richard Gray Li Jin Justin Chang Heather Beard Diana Villazana-Kretzer Harris Biag Lauren Oliver Amber Lehmann Kelly Whited

TCOM Class of 2010 Sheva Khorrami Jonathan Hopkins Alicia Cleaver Parastoo Askari Milus Davi