Broad Street Ministry Partners Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic Just Launched a Hygiene Truck Offering Free Personal Care Items
Broad Street Ministry (BSM) – the region’s most innovative and creative social service organization for people experiencing deep poverty – officially launched its new Community Hygiene Truck today in partnership with Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic. The Community Hygiene Truck continues to take Broad Street Ministry’s personal care program on the road as it distributes free personal care items such as soap, deodorant, toothpaste and more to individuals across Philadelphia who are experiencing poverty. Through a strategic partnership with Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, the truck now features a new built-in telehealth component that enables the roaming resource to provide primary medical care for individuals struggling with homelessness and chronic health conditions.
“The Broad Street Ministry Community Hygiene Truck, through our incredible partnership with Trinity Health, will allow our neighbors who are experiencing deep poverty to not only have access to the necessary personal care products, but also have access to healthcare,” said Laure Biron, Chief Executive Officer of BSM. “We believe that this initiative has the power to extend the work we do well beyond the walls of Broad Street Ministry to bring life-changing resources and radical hospitality to communities across the City of Philadelphia that need it most.”
Since the Community Hygiene Truck’s soft launch in October, the 16-foot box truck has distributed 8,003 personal care and hygiene items, accommodated 617 guests, and made a total of 18 visits across nine different partner locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. Over the past few months, the truck has undergone several improvements and upgrades to ensure the success of this initiative, including the addition of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic’s tele-health resource.
“We are thrilled to partner with Broad Street Ministry on the Community Hygiene Truck to provide health services for those in our community who need it most,” said Chris Cullom, President, Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. “We believe this truck will have an enormous impact and will allow us to see what is possible when you take a holistic approach to the health and well-being of individuals, and form meaningful partnerships that strive to get to the root cause of recurring issues.”
The launch of the Community Hygiene Truck was celebrated by Broad Street Ministry and Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic during a public press event at City Hall featuring Mayor Jim Kenney. The launch of the truck was made possible through a long-standing partnership with the Starbucks Foundation and Life Science Cares, who are key contributing partners to Broad Street Ministry.
