Every week, as part of our ‘3 Streets‘ campaign, we turn the spotlight on organisations offering help to our homeless neighbours. Our first article focuses on the amazing StreetVet Cambridge.
In 2017, two vets called Jade Statt and Sam Joseph were going out independently onto the streets of London to treat the dogs of homeless people. They heard about each other and decided to join forces, and StreetVet was born.
StreetVet has since expanded into a multi award-winning registered charity, delivering free, accessible veterinary care and services to the pets of those experiencing homelessness across multiple locations around the UK.
StreetVet Cambridge is a registered veterinary practice, run collaboratively by volunteer vets and nurses in their spare time. Some work in local veterinary practices, whilst others work in education or undertake non-clinical roles.
Their first outreach in January 2018 was alongside Caring for Cambridgeshire’s Homeless’ monthly Market Night. A large, dedicated team of volunteers now deliver weekly outreaches. Local veterinary practices in Cambridge help care for their patients out of hours and undertake operations such as neutering, lump removals, dentistry, and x-rays.
StreetVet Cambridge work closely with homeless organisations in the city such as Wintercomfort, Jimmy’s, the Riverside hostels and Emmaus, reaching out every Thursday evening in the city centre. They provide free vet care and daily supplies of food, coats, collars, leads, microchipping, and routine preventative healthcare (vaccinations, flea/worming). They also fund operations, arrange investigations (x-rays, scans, blood tests) and out of hours emergency care when needed.
How can you support StreetVet?