Madison Stevens and Rebecca Zapata first connected through their love of service during med school orientation.
For Stevens, it stemmed from becoming a caretaker for her mother as a senior in high school.
For Zapata, it was the dismantling of her household by the war on drugs and mental health issues.
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Both discovered they aided the homeless growing up. Stevens tagged along with her mother to a Dallas soup kitchen. Zapata gave food to people living on the street in her hometown of Laredo, sometimes even crossing the border to do so.
Now, both second-year medical students at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth continue to foster their giving spirit as co-founders of the Street Medicine Student Coalition. Their work led to their nomination for 52 Faces of Community, the Fort Worth Report’s weekly series spotlighting unsung heroes in Tarrant County.
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The medical student-run organization provides medical care to Fort Worth’s homeless population by meeting them where they’re at: streets and parks. Zapata and Stevens want to build trust and connection with the homeless people who aren’t in shelters.
Working from a portable table, student adviser Dr. Christopher Rheams, the John Peter Smith Street Medicine Team, Zapata and Stevens lead medical students in offering health screenings, vaccinations, HIV tests, general medical counseling and Plan B every other Tuesday at Glenwood Park.
While serving as a coordinator at another student-run clinic serving Fort Worth’s homeless community, Stevens learned many homeless people can’t even access shelters and resources specifically made for them.
“When I look at students like (Madison Stevens and Rebecca Zapata), they inspire me. They demonstrate clearly that the future of medicine is in good hands.”
Dr. Christopher Rheams, Street Medicine Student Coalition adviser
“The degree of barriers that some of these unhoused people face is significant,” Stevens said.
The coalition also partners with Love and Light Ministries, which provides food and social workers to the homeless people.
“It’s very dynamic,” Zapata said. “It’s a lot of community organizers coming together to help, because being unhoused is very complex.”
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‘We care about y’all’
Providing health screenings isn’t the only reason Stevens and Zapata do street medicine. They want to get to know the people who they serve.
“A lot of times, we do health screenings, and then spend the rest of the time just talking to people,” Zapata said. “It’s just kind of going with the flow. We’re not trying to see patients in five to 10 minutes. If you want to sit here and talk for 30 to 40 minutes, we can do that.”
Homeless people have a tight-knit community, Zapata said. Word spread quickly about the street medicine team. Their table had regulars in just a few short months who were always eager to see Zapata and Stevens — and knew them by name.
As patients started opening up, Stevens learned about their distrust with medical professionals. People expressed feeling judged and unable to ask for help.
But Stevens and Zapata are working to build trust back.
“Creating a judgement-free zone, it’s a really nice feeling to have,” Stevens said. “We’re also showing them, ‘Hey, we as medical students, we care about y’all.”
‘Future of medicine is in good hands’
Rheams, a professor at the UNT Health Science Center, is the organization’s adviser. Within 30 seconds of first speaking to Stevens and Zapata, he immediately believed in their passion and commitment.
“At this point in my career, I’m looking to pass the baton to the next generation,” Rheams said. “When I look at students like them, they inspire me. They demonstrate clearly that the future of medicine is in good hands.”
The coalition has about 60 members and a growing waitlist. Zapata and Stevens’ peers have shown overwhelming support and interest, Rheams added.
“There’s such a joy of starting something from scratch that does real good for real people,” Rheams said. “You see the immediate effect both on the unhoused people that we help, and on the students who provide that help. That’s been the most amazing part of this — we’re all learning.”
Rheams primarily funded the coalition when it started. Now, it receives plenty of donations and continues to accept them. Zapata and Stevens hope to one day have sponsorships and receive grants.
Stevens and Zapata want to start to table every Tuesday and provide mental health and substance use resources, as well as more vaccines.
Street medicine comes at the intersection of a host of social issues such as the housing crisis, a lack of mental health resources and unaffordable medical care, Zapata said.
The goal is to gain the trust of every person Stevens and Zapata help by finding their core needs and helping them overcome barriers, Stevens said.
“We need a lot more humanity,” she said.
Kathryn Miller is a reporting fellow at the Fort Worth Report.
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