The Center for Community Health promotes the public's health through community partnerships. The licensed community clinic at St. Vincent had 6,000 patients in 1992 in 1999 the number of visits significantly increased to 26,000 patients. The clinic maintains a total average of 3,570 visits a month. The homeless population is divided into two segments the situationally homeless and the long term homeless.
Senior citizens are a growing population in the homeless community.
Common problems when working with homeless populations are difficulties in tracking these individuals. A variety of issues such as mental illness, substance abuse or a combination of the two adds to the complexity. A concern for the medical practitioner is how to meet the needs of the homeless. Some programs have proved successful when mental health services are offered in a traditional primary care setting. The approach at St. Vincent de Paul Village is a combination of education and service to access and treat homeless persons.