{"id":220890,"date":"2025-08-26T12:11:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T22:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220890"},"modified":"2025-08-27T09:50:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T19:50:01","slug":"home-project-20th-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/26\/home-project-20th-year\/","title":{"rendered":"H.O.M.E.<\/abbr> Project marks 20 years of care for Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s houseless"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"students
JABSOM<\/abbr> faculty Sandi Tsumoto and a student work with a patient at the clinic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For 20 years, the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a>\u2019s (JABSOM<\/abbr>) Houseless Outreach and Medical Education (H.O.M.E.<\/abbr>) Project<\/a> has been on the frontlines of Hawaiʻi<\/span>\u2019s houselessness crisis, delivering free care while training the next generation of physicians.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2005 by Jill Omori, JABSOM<\/abbr>‘s director of the Office of Medical Education, H.O.M.E.<\/abbr> began as a single tent clinic.<\/p>\n

Health isn’t just about medicine. It’s about wellbeing,
—Jill Omori<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“When I was a student, I wanted experiences like this, and there was nothing,” Omori said. “When we started, we were in a tent with shower curtains for walls.”<\/p>\n

Today, the program operates multiple mobile clinics and one brick-and-mortar site in Iwilei, serving hundreds each year. Students provide wound care, checkups and specialty services, while also connecting patients to food, housing and income support.<\/p>\n

“The mission of H.O.M.E.<\/abbr> is to provide the basic human right of healthcare,” said third-year JABSOM<\/abbr> student Philip Lee. “We as medical students learn to take a patient history, perform exams and build rapport. We\u2019re not just treating the disease, we\u2019re treating them as a person.”<\/p>\n

The clinics have helped ease pressure on Hawaiʻi<\/span>\u2019s healthcare system. Omori noticed that on the days they had clinics in certain areas, there were fewer EMS<\/abbr> calls at that time.<\/p>\n

Beyond medical care, H.O.M.E.<\/abbr> runs annual drives for school supplies, holiday meals and gifts for mothers. “Health isn’t just about medicine. It’s about wellbeing,” Omori said.<\/p>\n

As the project celebrates its 20th year, Omori hopes one day such services won\u2019t be needed. <\/p>\n

“For a long time we were the only ones providing truly free care,” she said. “Our program fills a very big need in our community.”<\/p>\n

Lee added, “At the end of the day, we all pursue medicine because we love people. H.O.M.E.<\/abbr> reminds you of that every day.”<\/p>\n

Read more at JABSOM<\/abbr><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JABSOM<\/abbr>\u2019s H.O.M.E.<\/abbr> Project has provided free care for Hawaiʻi<\/span>\u2019s houseless community while training future physicians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[165,686,1329,31,1466,9],"class_list":["post-220890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-health","tag-homeless","tag-houseless-outreach-and-medical-education","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t