SAN ANTONIO - – For many people, the ability to prioritize health is a luxury.
But for those living in poverty or experiencing homelessness, they have to decide between buying food or prescription medications.
For Olivia Oliver, prescription medications weren’t even on her wish list when it came to things she could afford.
About five months ago, Oliver said her world fell apart.
“One day I had it all, and then the next day, it seemed like I had lost everything at once. My job, my apartment, they raised the rent and I was just not able to pay it by myself,” Oliver said.
She moved out of her apartment and landed at Haven for Hope, a transformational campus for people experiencing homelessness.
“I just was not motivated, crying all the time, didn’t know why I was crying. Then I had those anxiety problems which I didn’t know nothing about. It was, I was just a total mess,” she said.
When she got to Haven, Oliver’s case management team helped her realize she had depression and anxiety, mental health conditions that she was not well versed.
“I’m actually taking medications right now and I’m doing so much better,” Oliver said.
Those medications came free of cost, thanks to a brand new partnership between Haven for Hope, and the St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, which helps uninsured Texans access prescription medications.
The charitable pharmacy began in 2018 using clinics, transitional housing and homeless shelters as the hub to distribute the free medications.
The pharmacy now works with over 300 clinic and hospital systems.
“This is the largest scale homeless shelter that we’re dealing with by far,” St. Vincent de Paul North Texas CEO Luis Gonzalez said of Haven.
Gonzalez is getting great feedback about the Haven partnership.
“Clients are able to afford the medication, which means they can be stabilized with their physical health care and their mental health care, which allows them to stay housed,” said Haven for Hope Transformational Services VP David Huete.
The prescriptions are all shipped to Haven’s mail room, and then taken to a medication room where clients can stop by the window and pick up their prescriptions.
“Pretty much covers everything diabetes, hypertension, bipolar disorder, depression,” Huete said.
Right now the pharmacy has about 25 to 30 Haven for Hope clients using the program, and they’re continually adding more people each day.
“It was so fast. I had to wait maybe two days for the medication to come in. And refills? No problem,” Oliver said.
What sets this program apart from others is that clients at shelters or transitional homes can continue getting the free prescriptions even when they move to new housing, as long as they still meet the criteria.
Those four criteria are:
- Being uninsured
- Being a Texas resident
- Having a valid prescription
- Are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level
“For a family of four, for example, that’s just over $90,000 a year,” Gonzalez said.
Oliver met all those criteria and hopes to take her free prescriptions with her when she finally gets a job and housing.
Right now she is volunteering at Haven’s warehouse eight hours a day to keep her mind in work-mode while she does job interviews each week.
In a moment of perfect timing, KSAT was about to leave the Haven for Hope campus after interviewing Oliver, when she came running over to tell us some big news she had just received.
“I got the job!” she yelled.
Oliver landed the job she had just interviewed for last week and wanted badly.
With strong mental health and motivation, she will start work next week.
“Hopefully my housing will now come through now that I have everything! I am so happy right now,” Oliver said with a huge smile.
Oliver hopes her success story will show others it’s okay to reach out for help and talk about mental health.
“Get out there, talk to somebody, get some help. That’s all I can say. It saved my life so far,” she said.
St. Vincent de Paul’s Pharmacy does not just help those living in shelters. Any individual meeting the criteria can apply.
For more information about applying, head to their website.