Tender Mercies, Inc.

Nirguna Thalla, Summer 2016

My goal this summer was to find an effective avenue through which I could build on my clinical skills while also giving back to the community. Working at Tender Mercies, I was able to challenge myself to do both of those things. At Tender Mercies, I was working specifically with a client population of 150 residents who have a history of homelessness and suffer from mental illness limitations. My partner Brandon and I were introduced to the residents on day one and we immediately went to work. We were given the freedom to experiment and devise ways to reach out and effectively help the residents. I felt that talking to people was the only fool proof way to know what they needed. We made a strong commitment to getting to know the residents on a personal basis and asked pertinent questions through my first couple days. We were able to gather a preliminary understanding before we utilized a large Meet and Greet Session to gather concrete data from surveys.

The survey data proved to be remarkable and gave us the direction we needed to build our project. We discovered that the residents badly wanted information and simple techniques to take positive steps for their health. This included learning about how to start exercising, eating better, managing stress, controlling diabetes and general wellness advice. We quickly realized that many of these residents needed the basic foundation to better their health. Many were in very poor shape. Our first approach was to implement a daily health clinic. Our goal with this health clinic was to acquire basic measurements like blood pressure, blood glucose, and heart rate in order to give the resident an idea of their current health standing. They would also set feasible goals in order to work incrementally towards them. We would then keep track of these measurements for them so they could provide it to a Primary Care physician and also monitor their progress towards their health goals. In addition to these health clinics, we would gather and present interactive sessions on health information in order raise awareness of the most pressing needs in their community. Then we would devise simple techniques to help them along. The resident population responded very well to our approach and we were able to contribute to the Tender Mercies community.

I felt great personal gratification as I worked at Tender Mercies. My favorite part of working here was knowing that I was making a difference. The resident’s would come to us with questions and we would work to find answers no matter how long it took. They were very grateful and many utilized our advice to improve their current situations. Seeing others inspired by our positive message inspired us to work harder. Towards the end, I felt very personally invested in our work. Residents were not just people we worked with but our friends who bonded with us. I will miss seeing them but I am thankful for the experience and will strive to continue to provide for my community as a future physician.