CINCINNATI — NeighborHub Heath’s mission revolves around helping the helpless.

​“We are aware that people don’t just walk through our doors when they need something. So we have to find them,” said Brian Vanderhorst, CEO of NeighborHub Health.

Now, with the help of a $485,000 grant the health center received from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Vanderhorst and his team are taking that mission to the next level.

The grant will help fund NeighborHub’s Street Medicine and Harm Reduction Services. Teams work around Hamilton County to help people struggling with homelessness or addiction.

“This is a program designed to bring our services to the street,” Vanderhorst added.

This program is poised to grow as the grant will pay for a fully equipped sprinter van for physical and mental health care.

NeighborHub Health currently has two vehicles in its fleet; a mobile medical and dental van. Vanderhosrt told WCPO that due to the vehicle’s size, it is mostly used to visit shelters to provide care.

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But this new, smaller van will reach areas where people live, along the street, under bridges and even in forested camps.

The health center said the van should be on the road by February. Until then, the center will work with partners who already have mobile health clinics.

NeighborHub Health Street Medicine Director Dr. Joseph Kiesler said the program provides physical, mental and emotional care to its patients.

​“A lot of times when someone is experiencing homelessness, people feel unheard, they feel unseen, and they actually lose hope sometimes. And what we’re hoping for as a team is to start providing that hope,” Kiesler said.

Kiesler said the mobile team will receive medical care on the streets twice a week, while harm reduction will take place in the van three times a week. Harm reduction will focus on connecting with those who are struggling and building trust between provider and patient.