The Supportive Outreach Service (SOS) in Grey County has won the Ontario Health System Quality and Innovation Award for its efforts to improve health outcomes for marginalized people in the region.
SOS took home the award in the Population Health category.
Francesca Dobbyn, Executive Director of the United Way of Bruce Grey and SOS Co-Chair says, “SOS is targeted to people who are unhoused, precariously housed, are dealing with addictions and mental health challenges who are not connected to any services.” Dobbyn.
She explains the outreach component of the service, saying, “SOS is doing lots of different ways of interacting with the population it’s trying to serve. So we have pop-up clinics that just occur randomly and we just message to the community, ‘Hey, we’re going to be in town and we’re going to be at this location, come see us,’ We have scheduled markets, so we’re in Hanover every other Wednesday and Owen Sound the opposite Wednesday, Durham once a month, Meaford once a month. So we do have schedules, and then we go when people call us and we have availability in the schedule, so if somebody calls and says, ‘I really need help and I happen to be in Kimberley,’ they will go to Kimberley,” says Dobbyn.
You can reach SOS by text or phone at 519-379-8743 Monday to Thursday from 8:30 to 6.
Dobbyn explains, “We’ve had family members call. We’ve had people directly call. We had a family member who said, ‘I have a family member who is trying to kick a habit, they’re going through withdrawal, I’m concerned. I’m concerned medically for them as well,’ and the team has gone out and met with them and worked up a response to that and connected them to supports. That’s the mobile magic that is the SOS.”
A release says, the SOS program formed following a COVID-19 outbreak at a rooming house in 2021. The outbreak highlighted the need to address health equity and health outcome gaps seen in highly marginalized individuals.
A partnership was formed including addiction medicine physicians, Brightshores Health Systems, the Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce, Grey County Paramedic Services, the United Way, OSHARE and the Salvation Army.
They are supported by several partner organizations including Grey Bruce Public Health, family health teams, municipalities, police, housing and social services, and charitable organizations. The mobile team includes a paramedic, nurse practitioner, two mental health counselors and a social navigator.
Grey County says, from February 2022 to June 2024, nearly 4,000 interactions were completed, providing 12,000 services ranging from meals to medical interventions to referrals to other services.
SOS program Co-Chair and Grey County Director of Paramedic Services Kevin McNab says in a statement, “Ontario is grappling with numerous health care challenges including the opioid crisis, mental health issues and homelessness, and chronic diseases. SOS faces these challenges from a rural lens, with strategic, patient-centred interventions that are effectively helping patients who face significant barriers to accessing healthcare in traditional ways.”
Dobbyn says, “It is a groundbreaking initiative that provides not only immediate medical assistance but also long-term support and hope. This innovative program is not just changing lives; it’s saving them. It serves as a model of compassion and effectiveness for communities across the province, demonstrating how tailored, responsive care can transform the landscape of public health and safety.”
More information on the SOS program can be found online at https://unitedwayofbrucegrey.com/sos-helps/.