Treats for the Streets: 6th Grade Drive for the Unhoused

MTS 6th graders Justus, Jasper, Jahan, and Azalaïs, dubbed the Treats for Streets Team, spearheaded a "Snacks Drive" at the school to help the San Francisco unhoused population. What started the project? The 6th grade class met two field nurses on zoom, Tim and Sophie, who work with homeless (unhoused) populations in San Francisco. In the conversation, Tim and Sophie described their work and the "street medicine" they practice. They have a mobile health clinic/van that they drive around in the city and help unhoused people who might need medical attention. They typically work in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. Many people in the community are unsheltered, and there are people living in encampments, on the street, or in RVs.

Tim and Sophie have learned over the years that the best way to get folks to talk with them is by offering them snacks. Once they get into conversation, then they learn more about the individuals and what they might need. They carry hygiene supplies and also have other medical care they can provide, such as giving out vaccinations (COVID, flu, tetanus) for example, as well as other medications.

While Tim and Sophie have funding provided by different organizations, they are lacking funds for packaged snacks, which from their experience are among the best tools to get people to come out of their tents and get care. After learning about their work, the 6th grade Treats for Street Team put together a presentation, which they shared with other grades and the MTS community with a request for individually wrapped snacks to donate to Tim and Sophie to support their efforts.

The students gathered the snacks during morning drop off and were able to collect a large assortment of snacks, which they will deliver to Tim and Sophie tomorrow. Many thanks to everyone in the MTS community who contributed to their drive and congratulations to the Treats for Street Team for their demonstrated leadership. Finally, thank you to parent and teacher, Marianne Kabir, and 6th grade teacher, Issac Jacob-Gomes, for working with our students on this valuable project.