The mission of Regis University is to educate students in the tradition of service and leadership. As an affiliate faculty member, I had the opportunity to work with nursing students during their community health clinical rotation. We worked with outreach workers from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless providing nursing care to homeless individuals on the streets and shelters in Denver. We treated frostbite, abrasions, burns, lacerations, gout, hypertension, diabetes, and pneumonia. We were able to provide education and resource referrals for shelters, jobs and food lines.

The definition of outreach contains the phrase "the act of reaching out towards truth of the human spirit". This experience has highlighted this definition for me bringing a clearer understanding of community and the benefits of positive actions and intentions.

We were fortunate to meet other people helping people. This spirit of service and caring for one another was contagious. A homeless gentleman we met had been beaten with a bat and was recovering from serious injuries to his jaw and head. He was inspired by what we were doing and offered his bag of new toiletries for us to give to someone else who needed it more than he did. That afternoon, we came across a woman in Cheeseman Park who needed a dressing change on her knee. She noticed the bag and inquired if she could have the new toothbrush as she had been released from prison the night before. She was thrilled to receive the gift and was also inspired by the gesture. We witnessed many instances of people helping people; outreach workers, volunteers, vendors, street ambassadors, and the homeless people themselves who show amazing resourcefulness and an ability and desire to watch out for each other.

We could each see how we were the ones who were ultimately benefited by this sense of reaching out with a seeking, compassionate view. We walked away with a better sense of our own obstacles, fears and judgements; and with a bigger perspective of basic human values and what a true community is.

Outreach - "the act of reaching out towards truth of the human spirit". People helping people. It's a good word, and it's a good practice.

Laura Weiss RN BSN MHS
Affiliate Faculty
Regis University