Circle the City is a 501 (c) (3) public charity founded by Sister Adele O’Sullivan, CSJ, M.D., as a result of her work as a physician provider with the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Program in Phoenix, Arizona. A member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet since 1968, Sister Adele sees her medical work with Phoenix’s homeless population as a calling that is directly in keeping with the mission of her community to “engage in works of compassion and mercy that respond to the spiritual and corporal needs of persons in our times.”
Since 1996, Sister Adele and the Clinic staff have provided medical care to homeless individuals and families who seek treatment at the HCH Clinic. The Clinic offers comprehensive primary care services funded through a federal grant administered by Maricopa County’s Department of Public Health.
Despite a multidisciplinary approach to care that includes physicians, physician assistants, nurses, therapists and social service case managers, the needs of the clients often exceed what the grant funds are allocated to provide. Sometimes these unmet needs are a special diagnostic test, a surgical procedure or eye glasses; other times they may be something as small as a new pair of shoes, clean underclothing, or a bus ticket to reunite with family.
In order to provide for these unmet needs, Sister Adele successfully appealed to her community, and other faith communities and individuals throughout Phoenix, for the seed money to help bridge the gap between services the Clinic could provide and other needs so vital to restoring health and healing to these individuals. Over the years, monetary donations kept in a shoebox gave way to a bank account as word spread about the myriad of needs.
Sister Adele’s community fully embraced her work on behalf of homeless persons, and it is from these humble beginnings that Circle the City was born. With the assistance of an Advisory Board formed in September 2007, Circle the City incorporated in March 2008 and is now recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organization.
Sister Adele and Circle the City’s Board of Directors gratefully acknowledge the nurturing support of the Sisters of St. Joseph and remain committed to their work of serving the dear neighbor without distinction.
The first Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in Arizona to begin serving the dear neighbor in 1870. Their mission of compassion and mercy continues on the streets of Phoenix today through Circle the City.
Circle the City provides for the unmet needs of homeless individuals and families, especially during times of illness. We do this by assisting with financial resources that make health care services possible where no other resources exist, and by providing basic necessities to help ease the burdens of homelessness.