Walking with You

Before coming to Fourth Street Clinic, therapy for me was either a punishment or a portal to information for my parents. It didn’t help me, it wasn’t for me, and it wasn’t about me. The decision to finally do something about my mental health really came down to one thing: there was nothing else to do but take care of myself.

That decision – combined with the fact that everyone here is truly rooting for you, and the chance to sit and look at myself as myself – helped me let go of fear and start to believe that change is possible. For the first time, I could hope that there’s another way to live. I would have never felt this way without Fourth Street Clinic.

Before a lot of us come to Fourth Street Clinic, we feel unseen. We’re discounted, discredited, and made to feel like we don’t have as much validity as someone who isn’t experiencing homelessness. But the truth is, anybody could find themselves needing a place like this – sometimes it just takes one bad thing happening. Nobody is above anyone else, and that’s something you can really feel in the care here. I’ve never felt lesser or been made to feel othered. Having a place that offers so many things in one spot gives you the confidence to take care of yourself and see how much more you can grow.

The concentration of compassion is higher at Fourth Street Clinic than anywhere else. When you walk in, you feel that somebody genuinely cares about you – and that means everything. I’ve even talked to other patients who say that when the building is closed, they still come sit nearby because they know they’re safe here. That sense of safety takes the fear out so many difficult situations. At Fourth Street Clinic, it feels like the staff are walking with you. They’re not pushing you into anything, but they’ll absolutely walk beside you while you do it.