Broad Street Love
Title: Addressing Deep Poverty Through Radical Hospitality: Mail, Clothing, & Front Desk
Student Interns:
Yaya Chen
Drexel University College of Medicine
Julie Gauthier
Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health
Christopher Haddad
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Steven J. Peitzman, MD, FACP
Drexel University College of Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Dianne Johnson, MPA
Broad Street Love
Community Site:
Broad Street Love, formerly known as 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, the 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, the Bridging the Gaps student interns helped run the front desk, which was needed due to staff changes, and prepared an orientation binder with resources and guidelines to assist with future changes in front desk management. The interns also helped Broad Street Love organize and coordinate its clothing closet and hygiene services, which included creating hygiene kits for guests and helping guests create a personalized outfit from donated pieces. Additionally, the interns spent time in the on-site mailroom which consisted of sorting and distributing mail to the more than 4,000 guests who keep mailboxes at Broad Street Love.
Reflections
“Working at Broad Street Love this summer was an eye-opening and empowering experience that allowed me to learn more about what community health means in Philadelphia. I appreciated getting to provide direct, hand-to-hand care to guests through giving out mail in the mailroom and interacting with guests at the clothing boutique. Witnessing firsthand how people in Philadelphia are confronting homelessness and poverty, I learned how to provide care and communication with greater courage and understanding of not only what the guests are dealing with in that moment but also everything they carry with them. My experience here strengthened my own dedication to community-based medicine and reinforced the value of compassion and integrity as a way to confront social determinants of health. I will always carry with me Broad Street Love’s mission of treating all of its guests with radical hospitality.”
Yaya Chen
“Working at Broad Street Love taught me how to serve people experiencing deep poverty through radical hospitality and trauma-informed interactions. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment when you’re interacting with dozens of guests every day and forget to remember that everyone has their own story that shapes their interactions. My supervisors and the other volunteers modeled radical hospitality in a memorable way, and I will definitely take that with me after I graduate.”
Julie Gauthier
“My time at Broad Street Love has been unique. My years of experience working as a registered nurse in Philadelphia, especially in the emergency department, prepared me well for running the front desk at Broad Street Love and working with their de-escalation team. This summer, I learned to field questions from guests and provide resources and information I never knew existed. I spent time getting to know these guests, their circumstances, and their life stories. I am grateful for these relationships that have been cultivated and hope to volunteer at Broad Street Love in the future to see these familiar faces. The experiences of my summer provide me with a unique perspective and will inform my future practice as a physician.”
Christopher Haddad