Medical facility to help Macon’s homeless residents is now open. Here’s what it offers

Daybreak unveiled a new space Tuesday that will offer medical services and support for Macon residents experiencing homelessness.

In a lobby that still smelled of drying paint, Sister Theresa Sullivan presented the Sheridan Center and Respite Care facility, which opened Tuesday. Sullivan is the executive director of DePaul USA Macon, which operates Daybreak.

The new facility is made possible through partnerships with local organizations, as well as money from the Sheridan Foundation, individual donors and the Macon-Bibb County Commission.

It will help people in need who are exiting the hospital, as well as provide some basic medical care and social services for people experiencing homelessness.

What does the new facility offer?

Sullivan said the Sheridan Center and Respite Care will expand the assistance Daybreak offers to the Macon community. While Daybreak’s facility for people experiencing homelessness does have a small clinic, its offerings are limited and it closes at 3 p.m. each day.

“This (space) is a dream come true,” Sullivan said.

The Sheridan Center and Respite Care has 12 beds for overnight stays and four exam rooms. It also offers dental services, assistance with accessing and taking medication and more.

Local medical professionals are volunteering their services to people using the Sheridan Center and Respite Care, said Heather Sostarich, the clinic manager for the new facility. First Choice Primary Care plans to come to the facility twice a week to help participants with extra medical services, and the Georgia Department of Public Health will help provide vaccinations.

The facility is especially important, Sullivan said, because it makes sure that people experiencing homelessness get the care they need when they leave the hospital to stop them from returning with worse conditions.

People experiencing homelessness are significantly more likely to be readmitted to a hospital than people with housing, according to the National Library of Medicine. This is because people experiencing homelessness often lack access to regular doctor visits, and because they may not have a place to rest and recuperate after being discharged.

Sullivan said Daybreak has seen firsthand how injured people return to the streets only to return to the hospital or relapse a short time later.

“Our health clinic has been helping people for years, but we’re only open until 3,” Sullivan said. “When the doors close, our people go back into the streets and often relapse in the hospital.”

A holistic approach

In addition to medical services, Sullivan said the facilities will also have case managers who will work with individuals to find work, housing, other health services and resources to deal with issues like mental health and addiction that often keep people on the streets.

Sullivan and Sostarich said the new facility will take a holistic approach by offering a range of services to not just address medical emergencies, but also to help keep people healthy and eventually get them off the street.

The Sheridan Center and Respite Care also contains a large space that is for classes and meetings. Despite only being open a day, Sullivan said an Alcoholics Anonymous group was already planning on holding meetings in the space.

Adjacent to the clinic is the Central City Apartments, which is an affordable housing development serving people who may otherwise be homeless or struggle to afford a place to live.

Sullivan said these resources, in addition to what Daybreak already offers, will not only keep people experiencing homelessness healthy and safe, but also help them find stability and, eventually, a home of their own.

“It is so many parts together to keep people healthy,” Sullivan said. “Until you have shelter, until you have food, those are the first lines of healing.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 5:00 AM.