Charles Johnson
Two years ago, Charles Johnson was staying in abandoned rowhouses in West Baltimore with no insurance, no income and nowhere to turn for health care needs. “I’ve been pulling my teeth out with a pair of pliers and a wash rag,” he said back then. “And I don’t have my top teeth now.”
On December 9, 2015, you created new hope and opportunity for Charles—and hundreds of his West Baltimore neighbors. That was the day Health Care for the Homeless opened its West Baltimore clinic, what Charles now describes as “a godsend.”
“I started coming here as soon as they opened,” he says. “They’ve helped me with everything. Helped me get my life back together and build my self-esteem. They helped me start caring about my health.”
Since launching our clinic in a wing of Bon Secours Hospital, Charles and nearly 2,000 others have found relief, encouragement and the kind of personal care they need to get healthy. And West Baltimore Medical Director Dr. Tyler Gray predicts that we will reach more and more people in the years ahead.
“There’s a reason people come here, even from across town. We’re a small, multidisciplinary team and clients see the same familiar faces each time they come,” he says.
Charles credits the West Baltimore team with the ambition he feels today. At 57, he finally has disability benefits, he’s starting treatment for hepatitis C and he hopes to eventually own a home.
“The people here genuinely care, and they’re persistent,” Charles says with a chuckle. “They are like the family I never had.”
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“What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!” Expect a big smile and a joke like this one whenever you see Stephen Davidson. “I’ve got to learn a new way of living. A new way of dealing with things. It’s the first time I’ve experienced medical difficulties. First time I’ve been in a wheelchair. First time I can’t work. But I might as well have a good attitude about it.”