Dade County Street Response

What Dade County Street Response does

Dade County Street Response (DCSR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2017 by Armen Henderson, MD, MBA, in response to disparities in post-Hurricane Irma crisis response, and incorporated in 2018 through Radical Partners' social entrepreneurship incubator. The organization operates six core programs — Miami Street Medicine (foot-based street rounds at encampments), Doctors Within Borders (walk-in urgent care at the Freedom Lab), Freedom House Mobile Crisis (non-police mental health crisis response), Disaster Relief Team, Community Organizing, and Educational Advancement — providing 100% free medical, psychiatric, and social services to uninsured, undocumented, unhoused, and medically complex populations across Miami-Dade County.

DCSR's technology foundation is a proprietary "humanism-first" Electronic Health Record (EHR) designed to capture patient life stories and social determinants of health rather than billing codes, supporting trauma-informed and person-centered care delivery. Clinical operations run from The Freedom Lab, a hurricane-proof clinic built from shipping containers in Liberty City following an abrupt 2023 eviction, with secondary planning underway for an 11,000-square-foot medical safety net center on 3.5 acres in Opa-Locka. The organization has been featured in Netflix, Associated Press, NPR affiliate WLRN, and Miami Herald coverage, and operates as the medical arm of a multi-organization Community Emergency Operations Center coalition co-led with The Smile Trust.

The organization is funded entirely through charitable donations (processed via Donorbox) and is incubating a for-profit community development strategy through the DREAMM Project with Teen Upward Bound, where revenue from housing and commercial use at the Opa-Locka multi-use site will be reinvested into DCSR's nonprofit programs. With 6 employees and 2,500+ patients served across 10,000+ encounters, DCSR has reportedly saved Miami-Dade County over $4 million since 2024 through upstream preventive care and reduced emergency room utilization.

Name

Dade County Street Response

Legal name

Dade County Street Response

Website

https://dadecountystreetresponse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dade County Street Response is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating free street medicine, mobile crisis response, urgent care, and disaster relief services for uninsured, undocumented, and unhoused populations across Miami-Dade County, with a planned expansion to an 11,000-square-foot medical safety net center in Opa-Locka.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Healthcare Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Communications, Risk Communication & Community Engagement (HLAJAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Non-Communicable Disease Prevention & Chronic Disease Programs (BPAIAJAI)

Keywords

• Street medicine services
• Free healthcare clinic
• Mobile crisis response
• Disaster relief medicine
• Community health programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropy: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, DCSR is entirely funded through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and community supporters. All donations are tax-deductible.
2. DREAMM Project (Social Enterprise): The DREAMM Project is a community-rooted development partnership with Teen Upward Bound designed to build long-term sustainability. Revenue generated through housing, commercial use, and programmatic partnerships at the Opa-locka multi-use site is reinvested into DCSR's nonprofit programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Dade County Street Response is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers 100% free medical, psychiatric, and social services to uninsured and "uninsurable" residents of Miami-Dade County. Its core offering combines a walk-in urgent care clinic (Doctors Within Borders at the Freedom Lab), mobile street medicine rounds to encampments (Miami Street Medicine), a non-police mental health crisis response unit (Freedom House Mobile Crisis), and a Disaster Relief Team activated during environmental and man-made crises. All clinical services are provided without requiring insurance, identification, or payment.

Product overview

Dade County Street Response (DCSR) operates six core programs organized around street medicine and community healthcare delivery. The flagship offerings include Miami Street Medicine (mobile street rounds to unsheltered populations), Doctors Within Borders (walk-in urgent care clinic at the Freedom Lab), Freedom House Mobile Crisis (non-police mental health crisis response), Disaster Relief Team (medical emergency response during disasters), Community Organizing (advocacy and skills training), and Educational Advancement (medical training rotations). These programs are supported by The Freedom Lab—a shipping container clinic facility—and operate through partnerships including the Community Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), the DREAMM Project development initiative, and the Healing and Justice Center coalition. All services are provided 100% free of charge to uninsured and uninsurable individuals in Miami-Dade County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Miami Street Medicine: A team of medical professionals and social workers who go to encampments on foot to deliver critical medical and social services.
• Doctors Within Borders
• Disaster Relief Team
• Freedom House Mobile Crisis
• Educational Advancement
• Community Organizing
• The Freedom Lab
• The DREAMM Project
• Community Emergency Operations Center (CEOC)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2500 patients served with over 10,000 patient encounters
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and supporting.

• University of Miami Miller School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary clinical training site partnership in collaboration with South Florida's leading medical institutions. DCSR offers immersive rotations for medical students and residents in Street Medicine and Community Health. Dr. Armen Henderson serves as Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of Community Engagement at UM.
• Jackson Health SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for medical student clerkships and resident physician rotations. Residency tracks cover Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Emergency Medicine. Elective blocks scheduled through Jackson Health System coordination.
• Community Emergency Operations Center (CEOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-organization coalition led by Valencia Gunder of The Smile Trust, co-located with DCSR at the Freedom Lab. During disasters, the Freedom Lab transforms into a centralized operations hub while Doctors Within Borders clinic mobilizes into a field hospital. CEOC model has gained national and global recognition.
• The Smile TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed by Valencia Gunder, The Smile Trust co-leads the Community Emergency Operations Center with DCSR. Represents a deep inter-organizational solidarity allowing both organizations to remain resilient and responsive to Miami's most vulnerable communities.
• National Academy of Medicine Climate Communities NetworkkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCSR contributes frontline expertise on climate change impacts on underserved communities and community-based response systems. Shares model of decentralized, rapid-response care including street medicine and mobile crisis response to inform national strategies.
• Miami Climate AlliancekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing technical, staff, and clerical support. Dr. Armen Henderson credits Miami Climate Alliance inter-organizational solidarity for enabling DCSR to remain resilient and responsive before, during, and after crises.
• The Village Food PantrysupportingOthersCo-located community partner at the Freedom Lab location providing food resources alongside DCSR's medical services and case management.
• Dream DefenderskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Healing and Justice Center, a community-based public safety initiative working to reduce gun violence, improve health outcomes, and divert people from the criminal legal system.
• Circle of BrotherhoodkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Healing and Justice Center coalition, bringing together community members, violence survivors, artists, healers, healthcare providers, and legal professionals to build a community-rooted continuum of care.
• Touching Miami with LovekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Healing and Justice Center coalition working to create sustainable alternatives to policing, punishment, and surveillance while building safer, healthier communities.
• Teen Upward BoundkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerDREAMM Project partner for community-rooted development. The DREAMM Project is a for-profit development strategy generating revenue to directly support and expand DCSR's nonprofit programs through multi-use site development in Opa-locka.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Healthcare for the Homeless – Houston: Houston-area nonprofit delivering medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare to people experiencing homelessness through clinics and street outreach. Directly comparable in combining fixed-site and mobile care delivery.
• Project HOME: Philadelphia nonprofit combining healthcare, housing, education, and workforce development to break the cycle of homelessness. Operates a federally qualified health center with integrated services similar to DCSR's holistic model.
• Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program: Pioneering nonprofit providing healthcare to homeless individuals in Greater Boston, including street outreach and respite care. Long-standing national model for street medicine that DCSR's model explicitly resembles and adapts.
• Camillus Health Concern: Miami-based nonprofit providing free, comprehensive healthcare to homeless and uninsured populations in Miami-Dade County. Operates as an FQHC lookalike serving overlapping patient segments with similar mission-aligned, low-barrier care model.
• Los Angeles Christian Health Centers: LA-based nonprofit FQHC providing free and low-cost healthcare to homeless and low-income patients including primary care, mental health, and street medicine. Strong functional parallel to DCSR's combined clinic-and-street approach.
• Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers: New Jersey-based nonprofit focused on complex care for high-need patients frequently experiencing homelessness, incarceration, and substance use. Comparable in serving medically and socially complex patients with intensive case management.

Emerging players

• Street Medicine Institute: Pittsburgh-based nonprofit network supporting and training street medicine programs globally. Closely aligned with DCSR's street medicine approach and serves as a coordinating body for similar organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Cherokee Health Systems: Tennessee-based FQHC integrating primary care, behavioral health, and social services for underserved rural and urban populations. Comparable integrated-care model serving complex patients with limited access to traditional systems.
• Community Health of South Florida (CHI): Large South Florida FQHC operating multiple health centers across Miami-Dade serving insured and uninsured populations. Comparable mission of serving underserved communities but with traditional FQHC infrastructure and payer mix.

Regional players

• Mental Health Association of Miami-Dade: Local Miami-Dade nonprofit providing mental health and crisis services to vulnerable populations. Directly comparable in non-police crisis response mission that overlaps with DCSR's Freedom House Mobile Crisis program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DadeCSR
• Instagraminstagram.com/@DadeCSR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dade-county-street-response

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dade County Street Response