Street Side Medics – a not-for-profit, GP-led mobile medical service dedicated to people experiencing homelessness – will officially launch its first regional NSW clinic in Nowra on Tuesday 27 May 2025.
Located at Shoalhaven Homeless Hub at 93 Plunkett Street in Nowra, the first clinic will operate from 10am – 12noon on Tuesday 27 May and at the same time and location every Tuesday thereafter.
The brainchild of 2022 Young Australian of the Year, Dr Daniel Nour, Street Side Medics provides free primary healthcare to vulnerable Australians via fully equipped and customised mobile medical units which on a weekly basis visit areas with demographically high concentrations of homelessness.
According to the latest release (2021) of Census data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately 700 people within the Shoalhaven region are homeless or marginally housed.
The launch of Street Side Medics in Nowra is thanks in large part to funding from COORDINARE which is the South Eastern NSW Primary Health Network, in addition to funding announced earlier this year by the NSW and Federal Labor Governments.
Street Side Medics currently operates several clinics across Sydney and in Wollongong NSW, and it recently commenced its operations of two clinics in Victoria.
The unique service has a no-turn-away policy and Street Side Medics operates in partnership with existing food services, shelters and other homelessness-focussed service providers at each of its clinic locations to help alleviate the burdens faced by homeless communities in accessing primary healthcare.
“Health is rarely a priority for the homeless. They’re typically more concerned about where to sleep, food, where to wash or the means to achieve a sense of security and companionship,” explains Dr Daniel Nour.
“It’s namely for this reason that Street Side Medics works in collaboration with fellow service providers – including Shoalhaven Homeless Hub – because it better positions us to play a part in alleviating the barriers that limit homeless peoples’ access to primary healthcare.
“On a broader level, I am a staunch advocate of the need for a national homelessness commissioner to better coordinate a national response to the growing homelessness crisis. Too many organisations are currently working in silos.
“We need a homelessness commissioner to better maximise the resources available to us more efficiently, not only to better support vulnerable Australians, but also to understand and address the root causes of homelessness.
“Homelessness is not just a housing issue. Homelessness is also a health crisis. It is a policy crisis. It is multi-faceted, complex, and a shameful reality in almost every society; one that demands tough conversations and meaningful cross-portfolio action. As I’ve come to appreciate, it is “home”-lessness, not “house”-lessness.
“Street Side Medics has proven the value of a mobile healthcare model. Mobile clinics like ours play a vital role in bringing care directly to people who’d otherwise go without. But for long-term change, we need more than pockets of innovation. We need to scale what works, connect services, and commit, as a nation, to doing better.
“Street Side Medics will continue our plight in support of vulnerable Australians and we’d be most grateful to the people of Nowra to support us in any way that they can. Our website for an overview of how you can help,” added Dr Nour.
