Supporting Homeless in Leicester With Dental Services
Over the years, the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation in Leicester has supported the homeless with dental problems alongside a Leicester-based charity The Bridge, Homelessness to Hope.
One of our devotees Dr Girish Kunigiri, alongside members of The Bridge, has developed a five-year health and wellbeing strategy to not only improve their health and wellbeing but also for them to become as independent as possible and to re-integrate into the community. The Sai Organisation has helped in setting up regular health clinics over the years. These are now fully integrated into The Bridge where mental health professionals, drug and alcohol services and optometrists, along with an army of volunteers, come together to provide both physical and mental health support, and advice to its guests.
As a part of the initiative, Sai devotees and The Bridge have liaised with some of the dental surgeries in Leicester to begin a project which aims to excel regarding community dental practices coming together to support the homeless with dental problems. This project started in November 2019 with the Doncaster Road Dental Practice followed by two other dental practices (Willowbrook Dental Practice and Glenfield Dental). The dental practices open their practices for half a day every 6-8 months exclusively for the homeless. The professionals from the dental surgery along with volunteer dentists/dental nurses give their time free to treat the homeless with dental issues.
Dental pain is a significant issue for people experiencing homelessness. Up to 60% say they have experienced it since becoming homeless, and of those, 30% report experiencing pain daily (Groundswell ‘Healthy Mouths Report, 2017). This highlights the demand for such services and the difference in impact these can cause.
On average, the dental clinic is run every quarterly with one of the dental practices providing such support. In each clinic about 12-20 homeless are seen. Together they have treated over 90 patients including X-rays, extractions, fillings, scaling/hygiene and prescriptions. The transport for the homeless is sorted by the Leicester Sri Sathya Sai Organisation with a team of dedicated volunteers truly reflecting Swami’s teaching of “Service to man is service to God” with exceptional selflessness and compassion.
Homeless patients have been very grateful for this service and have provided very positive feedback. Some reported that they had not seen the dentist for decades and it has been a positive change for them. This initiative has played a pivotal role in providing care, reducing the burden in hospital and provided tremendous support to the Leicester community.
