Man with a mask and hat standing outside St. John's health clinic

Homeless Health Care Services in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire

St. John’s holistic approach to health care connects the marginalized homeless population with primary care services, case management, and housing assistance. Our health workers cultivate relationships with patients experiencing homelessness over time fostering the trust required to serve this community.

St. John’s provides comprehensive healthcare and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness through multiple access points, including our Avalon Health and Access Center, Traynham Health Center, Washington High School-Based Health Center, San Bernardino Health Center, and Indio Health Center. Services include primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health care, and intensive case management.

At our Avalon Health and Access Center, we operate a dedicated Homeless Drop-in Center that offers a safe and welcoming environment. This center provides basic needs and supportive services such as access to a food pantry, showers, clothing, laundry services, bike and cart storage, computer workstations, and a place to rest. Onsite case managers connect clients to medical, dental, behavioral health, and housing services.

St. John’s also deploys mobile health clinics that dock at shelters, encampments, and community sites throughout our service area. These mobile units offer primary care, behavioral health services, and case management, expanding access to care for unsheltered individuals and families who face significant transportation and system navigation barriers.

St. John’s street medicine teams conduct outreach directly in unsheltered environments—such as encampments, sidewalks, parks, and underpasses—to deliver trauma-informed care where people live. These interdisciplinary teams provide medical and behavioral health services, housing navigation, case management, and linkage to benefits and supportive resources.

Our community outreach efforts are designed to reach and engage individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability, increasing their access to coordinated medical, dental, behavioral health, and enabling services in a culturally responsive and patient-centered manner.

 

Our Homeless Health Care Services:

  • Comprehensive primary medical care
  • Mental health screening and counseling services

  • Substance use screening and counseling services

  • Dental Services

  • Chronic disease screening (diabetes, hypertension, STI/HIV, cholesterol)

  • TB screening

  • Well-woman checkups

  • On-site lab testing
  • Health insurance enrollment assistance
  • Community and individual outreach
  • Needs assessments for linkage to appropriate services (CES, SPDAT & VI-SPDAT)
  • Partnerships with and linkages to local homeless service agencies
  • Health education
street health worker with patient
street medicine worker helping patient

“St. John’s has made a 180-degree turn in my life. I can’t describe it in words. When I was on the streets, I thought I was worthless. They helped me change my mind and made my dreams come true. St. John’s has changed my life.”—Maria M

Patient Resources

At St. John’s, anyone is eligible to receive services, no matter their ability to pay. We accept Medi-Cal, Medicare and many other insurance plans. We have benefits counselors at all of our health centers to help patients determine their eligibility for insurance programs. For uninsured patients we offer services on a sliding scale cash basis. For a full list of insurance and payment options click here.

We offer Pharmacy, prescription and Laboratory services including: Senior programs, Public-Private Partnership, Sliding Fee Scale Pharmacy Programs, diagnostic and laboratory procedures, HIV and STD testing and more. Our Dispensaries offer prescription services to enrolled clinic patients.