AUSTIN, Texas — The Downtown Austin Community Court (DACC) is creating a new way for people experiencing homelessness to safely access their medications. In the One Texas Center, the court has installed locked storage cabinets that will hold medications for people who are unhoused.
“We have worked with individuals over the years that we’ve seen decompensated very quickly when they don’t have their medication,” Jennifer Sowinski, the clinical operations manager for the DACC, said.
Sowinski said there are many challenges for these people who are trying to store their medications safely while living on the street, dealing with issues like rain and the extreme Texas heat. That’s why the DACC wanted to add this resource for its clients, along with the other services already provided to them.
It’s also something the DACC believes will help put less pressure on the city’s emergency services and stop people experiencing homelessness from overusing emergency rooms.
“I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times this would have come in handy for the clients that we serve,” Amber Price, the captain of the Community Health Paramedic Program for Austin Travis County EMS (ATCEMS), said.
Price also said if these people lose their medications while living on the streets, it could take them a long time to get back on them.
“They have to get approval from a doctor, they have to get it approved through MAP, or whatever insurance they have. It’s a very long process,” Price said. “And that time that they’re out of that medication, their disease process is not being managed.”
Price said it could also affect the time they spend living unhoused.
“Most everyone who lives on the street has multiple disease processes going on at the same time. And if you don’t feel good, you do not have the motivation to work on the navigational path out of homelessness,” Price said.
People experiencing homelessness will be able to come into the One Texas Center to get their medications anytime from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. If there are medications the person needs to take at night or through the weekend, DACC case managers will give them a safe bag to take doses of their medicine to-go.
All medications must be in the original prescription bottle for the DACC to store them at the facility. The court is working on Phase 2 of this program, which would storage for refrigerated medications. That should be available for people sometime later this year.
If transportation is an issue, the DACC has bus passes for people to use to get to their crucial medications every day.
The DAAC serves about 70 people every day, providing them with a wide range of services – everything from helping people find mental health care, medical care and housing to getting a Texas ID and keeping their mail in a safe location.