Dr. Richard Hencke: The homeless, an emergency physician’s perspective

By Dr, Richard Hencke

Who are Santa Cruz’s homeless people? Are they mentally ill, unfortunates down on their luck, drug abusing thieves, or merely in need of job retraining and opportunities? Are they mostly local folks or out-of-towners who arrive because we reputedly pay people to be homeless? Reading the Sentinel, I could believe they are either “just like you and me,” or social parasites. I have seldom seen a comprehensive approach or description of what is a very complex issue.

At the end of December, I retired from the Dominican emergency room in my 44th year of emergency medicine. I […]

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