4300 NW 12th Ave.
Miami, FL 33127
General Inquiries:
1-561-877-1195
Our Story: Resilience in the Face of Neglect
Dade County Street Response (DCSR) was born in 2019 out of a direct need for medical equity in Miami. After witnessing how governmental neglect left low-resource Black and brown communities to suffer preventable harms during disasters like Hurricane Irma, our founder, Armen Henderson, MD, MBA, organized a grassroots team of medical professionals to go where traditional systems fail.
In January 2023, we faced a crisis of our own: an abrupt eviction that left our organization "homeless". Instead of stopping our work, we established a temporary site in a parking lot and began a two-month journey to build our own stable environment.
The Freedom Lab
Today, DCSR is headquartered at The Freedom Lab, a durable, hurricane-proof clinic built entirely from shipping containers in the heart of Liberty City. Situated at 4300 NW 12th Ave, the Lab serves as our operational hub and a safe, trauma-informed medical home for neighbors who have not seen a doctor in years.
Our Mission & Philosophy
We operate under an abolitionist framework for medical care and disaster relief. We believe that medical professionals must be more than clinicians; they must be organizers who step outside the hospital walls to treat the "social determinants of health"—the housing, food, and safety issues that medication alone cannot fix.
Why We are Different:
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Humanism-First Technology: We use a unique Electronic Health Record (EHR) system designed to capture human stories and social needs rather than just billing codes.
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Academic Leadership: In conjunction with the University of Miami and Jackson Health System, we host nationally recognized educational tracks that train the next generation of "street doctors" in compassionate, trauma-informed care.
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Radical Accessibility: Our services—ranging from Miami Street Medicine to Doctors Within Borders Urgent Care—are 100% free and year-round.
The Road to Opa Locka: 2026 and Beyond
We are not stopping at the Freedom Lab. DCSR has secured 3.5 acres in Opa Locka (33054), where we plan to construct an 11,000-square-foot medical safety net center. As other local hospitals close due to financial constraints, we are scaling our model of community-led, free healthcare to ensure no one is left behind.
