This article describes the Homeless Clinics Project (HCP) of the Hahnemann University School of Medicine. First organized by medical students in Philadelphia in 1989, the HCP has grown into one of the largest free clinics in the nation run by medical students. Three basic tenets guide all administrative decisions: (1) to provide direct health care to homeless persons in need and to help them gain access to the health care system with patient education and direct assistance; (2) to provide a primary care experience for first- and second-year medical students and allied health students; and (3) to sensitize future health care providers to the needs and social problems of individuals not likely to be served adequately in conventional medical settings.
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