Informative Essay On Dr. Jim Withers

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According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over half a million homeless citizens (578,424) lived in United States during 2014. In large cities like Portland, over 4,000 people live in homeless shelters or on the street each night. Obtaining basic amenities like healthcare or medical treatment is often a difficult and tedious process for them. In Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Dr. Withers provides medical treatment to the homeless, defied the ideas of conventional medicine to started practicing street medicine, and formed Operation Safety Net. For these reasons, Dr. Jim Wither should be the CNN Hero of the year.
For twenty-three years, Dr. Withers has provided medical care and treatment to the homeless. When he started, he would dress …show more content…

Withers formed Operation Safety Net to provide hope, medical aid, and housing. The organization, along with the city, have provided housing and homes for 525 homeless living in the Pittsburgh. They also worked to insure the homeless, and they help run homeless shelters in the Pittsburgh area. Dr. Withers intentions compassion and care can been seen through Operation Safety Net was created to show hope and care to the homeless. By creating Operation Safety Net, Dr. Withers shows he cares about the homeless and he wants to help them.
Dr. Withers took a stand against the conventional idea medicine and started practicing street medicine. When he started, his sanity was questioned, his career path was in doubt, and he even considered himself an outcast. Still he pursued on, and even influenced several of his students to join his cause. Dr. Wither shows he not going to sit and watch the homeless die, but he is going to do something about it
One might object, that taking a stand against the conventional idea of medicine is heroic. They might believe it is unnecessary when there are plenty of options and places to receive medical care, but this is simply not true. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, medical treatment is often difficult for the homeless to obtain without medical insurance. They often wait and end up causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency room

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