Madison Street Medicine

12/30/2025

To wrap up our End-of-Year Giving Campaign, we share a note from our Board President, Fred Turkington. Fred has served since 2020 and has been President for the past 2 years.

One of Fred's many gifts include his passion for bringing the power of technology to nontechnical users. He was instrumental in the development and implementation of our current Electronic Health Record system. We use that program hundreds of times a week and are so thankful for his expertise.

We appreciate you, Fred, for sharing your expertise and for your leadership:

Dear Friends,

On behalf of our entire Board of Directors, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your unwavering support and dedication to our mission. Your time and financial contributions have directly impacted lives, helping us to keep our clinics and programs running, and provide essential services and supplies to some of our most vulnerable community members. As we look ahead to the new year, we look forward to your continued partnership.

To ensure we can meet the growing needs in our community, please consider giving a special year-end gift today. Your donation made before December 31st is fully tax-deductible for the current tax year. You can make your secure contribution online or by mailing a check to the address below. Thank you, also, for spreading awareness about Madison Street Medicine to your friends, colleagues and family.

We have certainly accomplished a lot this year, and together we will make an even greater impact in the year ahead. Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year.

Fred Turkington
Board President, Madison Street Medicine

12/29/2025

Since 2004, the Veridian Homes Foundation has been committed to strengthening Southern Wisconsin charitable organizations. Thank you, Matt Cudney and Veridian Homes for your dedication to community. Your generosity makes a real difference!

12/22/2025

Our End-of-Year Giving Campaign continues with a note from Brenda Konkel, Executive Director and tenacious advocate for the unhoused.

Brenda leads our team with empathetic insight, wisdom and an authentic grasp on the struggles and systemic causes of homelessness. She's a visionary who, on her time off, can be found speaking up at City Council meetings and volunteering with Occupy Madison. She knows most of our clients by name and they know her to be in their corner. Our people couldn't have a more dedicated ally.

We hope her words encourage you to keep spreading awareness, and discussing our work and funding needs with friends, colleagues and family. Any amount helps us reach our goal.

Thank you, Brenda, for all you do:

"It's been a rollercoaster of a year with a lot of ups and downs. The most notable, down was our near win with the tied Common Council vote.

We fought to keep Dairy Drive running through the spring and the only costs to the city would have been limited staff time and utilities, but our residents lost their homes and it's been hard to watch as they try to adjust to being back out on the streets.

Other downs have been the loss of housing units for homeless people and the chaos caused by federal government policies. These downs are tough to take with what we know is coming, as well as the unknown of what the federal government might do next.

We do know that the new men's shelter is going to be too small and it will mean about 150 people or more will not be able to get in, doubling our outreach caseload from what it is now. And the threats of forced institutionalization of our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness, changes to healthcare coverage and other federal level changes, are just painful to think about.

But enough of the downs, there is also quite a bit to look forward to and celebrate! Thanks to the County, we were successful in getting an overflow shelter for the winter months and they are buying land for another campground. Here at Madison Street Medicine we were able to get 39 people housed and will house another 2 or 3 people before the end of the year!

We also held 116 indoor clinics, served 430 outreach clients, dispensed 1037 prescriptions, celebrated our 10 year anniversary of the Foot Care Clinic, distributed 876 harm reduction kits through our vending machine, provided essential supplies to 543 people during street outreach and another 659 walk-ins and a whole lot more!

The year ahead is going to be challenging, but our staff and volunteers, old and new, are ready to jump on that roller coaster again because we, like you, know that housing is healthcare and with your help, are making a real difference and saving lives. Thank you for your continued support."

12/20/2025

https://madison365.com/sundays-longest-night-homeless-persons-memorial-service-will-remember-those-who-died-homeless-in-2025/

This Sunday, Dec. 21, is the winter solstice and it will be both the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It's the date every year that the Longest Night Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service uses as an opportunity to remember, honor, celebrate and mourn the pass...

12/17/2025

When extraordinary people get together, they accomplish incredible things. You can't see inside, but this cooler is chock full of gloves, hats, socks, tents and all kinds of warmth for our unsheltered friends. Thank you Jacob, Andrea and the awesome Adam's Team. You are truly making a difference in our community!

12/16/2025

Thanks to everyone's GENEROUS contributions, we raised $4,855 dollars in our Giving Tuesday campaign!!! To those who helped support us and spread the word, we appreciate you and what an incredible way to transition into our end-of-year giving campaign. 💚

We know what you are thinking... wasn't giving Tuesday 2 weeks ago? And you would be right. BUT- this is us getting around to sharing our final fundraising total from that effort!

12/14/2025

For our end-of-year giving campaign, we are sharing reflections from staff members. We continue this week with a note from our nurse, Joanna.

Joanna has been with MSM for 4 years. She keeps our healthcare program running and when we say running, we mean, literally, she is running. From circle meetings to public speaking, from dressing wounds to shelter clinics and encampments. Joanna does it all with unmatched professionalism, approachability, and unwavering dedication to our clients. Joanna's grace changes lives and everyone who knows her is a better human for it.

We hope her words encourage you to keep spreading awareness and speaking with friends, colleagues and family about giving to our end-of-year campaign. Any amount helps us reach our goal.

"My role as the outreach nurse is rooted in MSM's vision of identifying gaps and barriers that exist in the healthcare system and helping clients navigate and overcome these barriers. By bringing healthcare to where people are, we can cut down these barriers to get people the help they need.

Much of my day-to-day work is spent helping clients navigate our complex healthcare system, whether that be troubleshooting insurance issues, accompanying clients to appointments, coordinating appointments, transportation, etc. Our healthcare system is complex for any of us to navigate, but even more so when someone doesn't have a phone, stable address and are worried about what food they'll have access to today or where they'll sleep.

The future of homeless services is particularly scary right now, with so much uncertainty and funding cuts. Just in my four years in this role, we have seen an increase in the aging population in the homeless community here in Madison. We are seeing many more older adults with complex medical needs who are incredibly vulnerable and we expect this to worsen. This is such important work and it's an honor to be in it together! We deeply appreciate your support and need your ongoing support now, more than ever!"

12/10/2025

Local organizers will lead candlelight vigils to raise awareness during the 34th annual Homeless Persons' Memorial Day

12/07/2025

For our end-of-year giving campaign, we are sharing reflections from staff members. Marco joined our team this year and everyday co-workers and clients alike are uplifted by his genuine compassion and ability to connect with professionalism, friendship, love and humor. We hope his message inspires you to continue spreading the word and consider a gift to our end-of-year drive. Any amount makes a difference.

"I’m a case manager and outreach worker at MSM. Every day, I meet people facing some of the hardest moments of their lives—moments when a warm meal, a safe place, or even a kind conversation can make all the difference. The work we do matters deeply, and it’s only possible because of supporters like you.

Recently, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to meet people where they are—on sidewalks, in encampments, and in the quiet corners of the city where few others go. Thanks to your generosity, I’m able to offer food, water, blankets, hand warmers in the winter, and ice in the summer. These may seem like simple items, but for the people who receive them, they mean survival, dignity, and hope.

I can’t count the number of times someone has taken a bottle of water or a warm blanket and said, “Thank you… I really needed this today.” Moments like those remind me that what we’re providing isn’t just practical support—it’s the reassurance that someone cares, that they are seen, and that they matter.

I want to personally thank you. Your kindness doesn’t just fund programs; it reaches real people in real crisis. It creates moments of connection, safety, and hope. It changes lives. Thank you for standing with us, and for standing with those who need it most."

12/05/2025

It's not just pizza, 🍕 but also kind hearts. 🩷 Thank you, Otto and all the primates at Molten Monkey. What a delicious way to warm up a cold night!

12/04/2025

A huge shout out to the donations that came in overnight and today! We are closing in on $3,000 in donations... but we can't count our chickens before they hatch! Swipe to see ways you can make a difference.

We need $305 to reach 60% of our goal- can you help us get there?
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12/04/2025

Thank you for the love and blessings!