A Safety Net Within the Safety Net
Dade County Street Response (DCSR) exists as the safety net to the safety net—serving individuals who are often excluded from or unable to access even the most basic public and charitable services. While traditional safety net institutions like public hospitals, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and social service agencies play critical roles, many of our patients fall through their cracks due to extreme poverty, lack of identification, immigration status, mental illness, housing instability, or trauma from past institutional harm.
Serving the Miami-Dade County
We serve people who are too undocumented to qualify for public benefits, too unhoused to receive mail or keep appointments, too medically complex to navigate fragmented systems, or too criminalized to feel safe calling 911. These are the people who show up at our clinic inside a shipping container, or who are met on the streets by our mobile crisis and street medicine teams. They aren’t just underinsured—they’re uninsurable. They aren’t just struggling—they’re systemically excluded.
How We Help the Miami Community
DCSR functions as a low-barrier, front-door alternative—catching people who have been rejected or exhausted by conventional pathways. We do the work of patient navigation, documentation support, case management, and trust-building that larger systems often can’t or won’t prioritize. We stabilize people upstream, often preventing unnecessary ER visits, hospitalizations, arrests, or worsening psychiatric crises.
In short, DCSR fills the spaces between systems, linking people to care while also advocating to reshape the systems themselves. We’re not just another access point—we’re the last reliable stop for many before total abandonment. That is what it means to be the safety net within the safety net.
Over 2500 patients served with over 10,000 patient encounters
100% free for everyone we serve which challenges the status quo
Interdiciplinary teams led by doctors, medical students, case managers, and peer navigators
Currently expanding to include medical facility and family living community in Opa-Lcoka
Saved Miami Dade County over $4 Million Dollars since 2024
Our Programs
Our Main Hub:
Doctors With(in) Borders Urgent Care - A New Kind of Clinic
Doctors Within Borders, founded in 2022, takes its name from the internationally recognized Doctors Without Borders. We chose this intentionally because there is no need to leave the United States to witness conditions often associated with the developing world. These realities exist in Miami and in thousands of low wealth zip codes across the country.
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In 2023 the clinic lost its physical home after an unfair eviction by a negligent landlord. Instead of closing our doors we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. In 30 days, we built a new medical headquarters from shipping containers.
What Happens at Doctors within Borders:
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Case management and Resource Connection: Co-located with partners like The Village Food Pantry.
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Therapy, Counciling and Psychiatric services
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Training Ground: A site for medical students to learn community-based care.
