THUNDER BAY -- Fourteen-year-old girls are selling themselves on the street for $10.
Alone, abused and exploited these girls have no one other than the men exploiting them to turn to.
Sarah Watt, a Joseph Esquega Health Centre addictions medicine coordinator, said getting them and other high-risk populations, from exploited girls to people with chronic mental health issues, to know that health care is out there for them and often necessary can be difficult.
"I think a lot of them have some fear or worry of stigma coming into the clinic," she said.
Hooked on drugs and being bought and sold, Watts said these girls don't know any better and don't know that there are people who care about them.
"I think that's where it needs to start. Really there are people outside of these men who are exploiting them. There are people who care for their well-being," she said.
It's why on Wednesday the clinic announced a pilot program partnership with the Guardian Angels. Clinic medical director Cheryl Everall said the group meets people every day who either don't know they need medical attention or don't know there are services out there for them.
"This population is the least likely to seek medical services early on," she said.
"For example if someone has an early abscess or infection due to IV drug use they often do present to the Guardian Angels so we would provide them with access to antibiotics, appropriate medical care versus waiting until later on when they present to hospital with end stage complications."
While the details are still being worked out, Everall said just getting access to these people through the Guardian Angels and into the clinic for preventative treatment could go a long way.
"Our goal is to provide an easy access point of care, non -judgmental, stigma-free availability to these patients," she said.
It's difficult to quantify the amount of people on the street who have addictions, mental health and other complications. Everall pointed out the fact that the city has more methadone clinics than Ottawa as a sign that it's a major problem. She's hoping this pilot program can also help get a better sense of how big the city's problems are.
"We know we have a lot of issues with addiction, chronic mental health, going on in this community and many vulnerable patients who are not accessing services," she said.
Guardian Angels' Ian Hodgkinson said the organization has been busy over the past five months working on partnerships in the community. Health care is just one thing that people in the community need.
"It's volunteering, it's good people trying to do the right thing," he said of the group. "It's just one of many other organizations in Thunder Bay doing amazing things."
Just being out in the neighbourhood, Hodgkinson said the Guardian Angels meet people every day who need help. He wants the group to help get them access to services they might not otherwise know about.
"We can be those people to bridge that gap," he said.
The group also announced a partnership with Home Depot Wednesday. The store will offer free after-hours classes to Guardian Angels' members for basic trades skills.
