For Adam and Belinda MacDougall, the Street Side Medics is a project close to their collective heart.

In fact, the much-loved Newcastle couple explored supporting the not-for-profit, GP-led mobile medical service – dedicated to people experiencing homelessness – in the Hunter many months ago.

Now, their dream’s become a reality following the clinic’s official opening at the site of The Salvation Army (67 Cleary Street) in Hamilton on Friday 20 March.

“Street Side Medics boasts a fantastic history of providing healthcare to those who cannot afford it,” Mr MacDougall said.

“This will be a wonderful service for so many people in need in the Hunter.

“The MacDougall Foundation is excited to be a small part of it.”

“There are a lot of residents who can’t pay for medicines or to visit a doctor,” Mrs MacDougall added.

“So, the initiative is something we’re really passionate about.”

According to the 2025 NSW Street Count, Newcastle has the state’s highest rates of homelessness outside the Sydney metropolitan region.

The clinic will liaise with existing service providers to help alleviate the issues faced by vulnerable locals in accessing primary healthcare.

And, The Salvation Army locale offers a safe space for people in need of support.

With an Orange Sky Australia laundry service also at the site, it provides groceries at no cost on Wednesdays and a sit-down community lunch on Fridays.

Then, each Friday morning, Street Side Medics volunteers are facilitated via a fully-equipped and customised van that visits the same exact location at the same time every week.

“By operating in partnership with like-minded organisations, our aim is to lessen the barriers that people experiencing homelessness face when it comes to accessing medical care,” CEO Nic Brown said.

“We’ve found these barricades include a lack of awareness about available services, prohibitive costs, limited access to transportation, as well as past negative experiences that have led to distrust.

“Street Side Medics delivers a bulk-billing service with only a Medicare payment.

“But, for those without Medicare, or any other limitations preventing Medicare payment, we have a no-turn-away policy and will see all patients free of charge.”

The brainchild of 2022 Young Australian of the Year Dr Daniel Nour, Street Side Medics launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020.

With hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Australians cared for since its launch, the charity now runs several weekly clinics across New South Wales and in Victoria, with further national expansion on the horizon.

The organisation concentrates on areas with demographically high concentrations of people experiencing homelessness, and general practice services provided from the mobile medical units each week include (but are not limited to): general health check-ups, chronic disease screening, acute infectious screening (including HIV, Hep C, Hep B, STI’s) immunisations, pathology services, diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions, screening tests and Medicare care plans, nutritional advice, minor surgical procedures and referrals to appropriate medical specialists.

“Our model is entirely volunteer driven,” Mr Brown said.

“So, without the dedicated input of local medical practitioners, our wider team of helpers and our very big-hearted corporate supporters like LSH Auto who donated this new van, Street Side Medics simply could not operate.

“On top of that, our Newcastle operations have been made possible through the generosity of private foundations and local supporters like the MacDougall Foundation, Unsworth Foundation and Vinva Financial, which have each contributed different elements to the service.

“We also acknowledge the NSW Government for broader funding that assists our expansion across the state, including priority areas such as Newcastle.”

The clinic operates every Friday from 10am until noon.

For further information about Street Side Medics, visit streetsidemedics.com.au.

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