The Wellington Downtown Community Ministry (DCM), supporting homeless people in the city for more than 50 years, is farewelling one of its most valued supporters, retiring ophthalmologist Dr Paul Herrick.
“We have so valued Paul’s generosity and commitment to the vulnerable people we work with every day at DCM,” said Michelle Scott, DCM’s manager of health services. “When he first approached us, we hadn’t even dreamed of being able to offer this kind of support. To see people leave with a pair of glasses and a big smile on their faces says it all.”
DCM supports people who are experiencing homelessness, working with them to find suitable housing, access benefits, manage their money and connect with whānau, health and other services and support. Over the past five years, the number of health services and support DCM offers in-house has grown significantly. Te Aro Health Centre, established in 1985 in response to an increased need for healthcare for those living on the streets of inner-city Wellington, operates a satellite clinic at DCM.
Ready readers at the ready
Reflecting on the years he has volunteered his ophthalmology expertise at DCM’s hub in Lukes Lane, Wellington, Dr Herrick said he found the eye complaints very similar to those he encountered at hospital. “It’s a place of triage. Some patients just need reading glasses, others need to see an optometrist for refraction, while some, mostly with cataracts, are referred to Wellington Hospital.”
