Broad Street Love
Title: Meeting Neighbors Where They Are: Community Health and Radical Hospitality at Broad Street Love
Student Interns:
An Dang
Drexel University College of Medicine
Miriam Kotamarti
Drexel University College of Medicine
Andrew Pletcher
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Charlene Chen, MD
Esperanza Health Center
Community Preceptor:
Chyna Parker
Broad Street Love
Community Site:
Broad Street Love, formerly Broad Street Ministry, is a community-based nonprofit organization that addresses deep poverty and homelessness through radical hospitality. It aims to uphold the dignity of individuals through a diverse range of trauma-informed, person-centered services, including meal programs, social services, medical services, legal services, distribution of personal care products, a clothing boutique, and a mailroom for guests to receive their mail. Broad Street Love is committed to fostering community and serving its guests with radical hospitality.
Team’s Experience:
At Broad Street Love (BSL), the Bridging the Gaps interns supported daily operations, including mail services, hygiene product distribution, civic engagement events, and guest hospitality, to reduce structural barriers to community resources. The interns prioritized addressing critical social determinants of health by supporting guests’ needs in obtaining legal identification, a permanent mailing address, and housing stability. To support these efforts, the BTG team created and implemented a spreadsheet system to record specific variables related to the social determinants and to quantify BSL’s tangible impact. This data will also support future grant-writing initiatives by helping leadership better illustrate BSL’s community impact. Working alongside BSL’s case managers, the interns also advocated for guests’ individual needs and integrated new methods for guest intake and identifying service gaps.
Reflections
My BTG CHIP experience at Broad Street Love had a meaningful impact on both my personal and professional development. Working directly alongside staff, volunteers, and community members broadened my understanding of the challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty. I gained a greater appreciation for the importance of meeting people where they are, listening with empathy, and recognizing that even small acts of kindness and respect can make a meaningful difference. I also developed a deeper awareness of how structural barriers, such as limited resources and access to essential services, affect people’s ability to meet their basic needs. Seeing how Broad Street Love provides not only meals and clothing, but also services such as mailboxes, state IDs, and birth certificate assistance reinforced the importance of preserving dignity and creating opportunities for long-term stability. This experience has strengthened my commitment to practicing with compassion, humility, and radical hospitality. As a future physician, I will strive to build trusting relationships with my patients, consider the social factors that influence their health, and provide care that treats each person with dignity and respect.
An Dang
Interning at Broad Street Love has been an eye-opening and extremely educational immersion into the world of being a social service agency. Based on the daily needs of BSL, we assisted with meals, mail services, acting as a personal shopper in the clothes closet, and case management. To keep a place like BSL running, volunteers are the backbone of its operations. One of my favorite aspects of interning at Broad Street Love has been getting to know the dedicated and always dependable volunteers as well as the two supervisors in charge of the mailroom. I have been so impressed with their commitment to the mission of radical hospitality as well as their non-wavering patience and empathy. This experience has reinforced my personal drive to be a service-oriented physician who prioritizes advocacy, empathy, and community.
Miriam Kotamarti
My summer at Broad Street Love broadened my understanding of community health by expounding upon abstract systemic issues through genuine human relationships. Working in mail distribution and alongside case workers showed me the social and administrative barriers that BSL guests face every day. Broad Street Love’s mission of radical hospitality taught me to be able to sit with powerlessness, maintain operational boundaries, and prioritize active listening over immediate fixes. My experience has helped shape my identity as a future physician and confirmed my commitment to recognizing and confronting social determinants of health by treating every individual with unconditional dignity.
Andrew Pletcher
