Off the Streets® — Cincinnati Union Bethel

Monica Benedikt, Summer 2012

Coming into medical school, I knew that I wanted to work in an underserved community. I was motivated by a desire to have my sociopolitical beliefs align with my actions. I wanted to walk the walk and not just talk the talk, but I didn’t have very much experience with the unique needs (medical and otherwise) of any specific underserved population. After this summer, I have a new set of tools that will help me be a doctor that is more effective at explaining medicine and at motivating healthy change.

Off the Streets (OTS) is a program that helps women involved in prostitution to reclaim a safe, independent, drug-free life. Women in the program attend groups each day on topics such as meditation, trauma and health. Each woman also has a peer-facilitator, someone who has previously been in her shoes, that helps to coordinate services in the community. When women graduate from the program, she must have a safe place to live and the means to keep it.

I was surprised at how quickly the women felt comfortable opening up to me about their past. Many of them have endured childhood experiences that nobody should have to deal with, especially at such a young age. Everything I have learned at OTS has reified my long-held belief that all people are doing the best that they can with the emotional and physical resources that they have. The women at Off the Streets are the strongest and most courageous people I have ever met. Each day they do the hard and often emotional work of trying to improve their lives. My project this summer was to develop a curriculum and teach a group surrounding issues of codependency. One of the goals of the group was to encourage self-discovery through activities that required introspection and creative expression. Another aim was for the women to get to know each other better and how to relate to each other in a more interdependent manner. Through the process of writing the curriculum and attending other groups at OTS, I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about recovery from addictions and twelve-step programs.

In the future, when I have patients that have substance abuse, trauma and/or poverty superimposed on their medical concerns, I will be more confident in addressing these issues, rather than just treating medical needs. I have seen how much these so-called “social issues” can affect a person’s health, so I will try to always learn the resources in my community and help in these areas as well. I am really grateful for the opportunity that I had to learn from these women and get to know them this summer.