Watch Part 1 of the interview:

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lee: My name is Lee. I am a Population Health Specialist here at CFH and I’ve been here for almost a year. 

Brittany: My name is Brittany. I am a Population Health Specialist at CFH and I have been working here for three years. 

What does the Population Health Team do? 

Lee: We’re in charge of basically two types of events. The first is health education events where we choose a topic monthly that’s pertinent to the month. And we present an educational workshop on it for the residents of the shelters that our organization serves. Past topics have included HIV, heart health, nutrition, cervical cancer, breast cancer, and more. We also do health events with a focus on diagnostic testing and preventative immunizations. 

Brittany: We’re basically screening them for colorectal cancer, and if they come back positive, we’re able to link them to a hospital that can do a colonoscopy for them. The earlier that they catch cancer, the better for their health. 

Why do you do what you do? 

Lee: The reason that I do what I do is that being a population health specialist combines the very best of public health on both a macro and micro scale. I like to work one-on-one with people and the health events, the HIV testing events, the health education workshops—they give me an opportunity to be able to get to know people online, their circumstances, their worries, the amazing things that they’re doing every day to try to better their situation, what their experience with homelessness is like. I get to engage with people one-on-one to try to make their day a little better. 

Brittany: I do what I do because I know what it’s like to be homeless. I know what it’s like to not have anyone care for you. So I do what I do because I feel that my experience can help other people, and hopefully they can pass along that experience to others.