CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new psychiatry program launched in Mecklenburg County called Wellness Without Walls. It’s led by the United Way of Greater Charlotte and its Home for All Initiative.

Malia Suhren believes everyone deserves equitable health care.

“That’s not something that has to be earned. It’s just a human right,” said Suhren, director of unsheltered housing navigation for Roof Above.

It’’s a sentiment Suhren keeps close to her heart and it’s why her organization has partnered with other nonprofits and health providers to start the Wellness Without Walls program. It takes mental health care out to the streets, making sure homeless populations get mental health treatment. Suhren and her team take the essential supplies people need and a psychiatrist goes out with them once or twice a week.

“They conduct walk-and-talk assessments, connect people with life-changing medication, provide the psycho-education that just goes beyond what we’re able to provide at outreach,” Suhren said.

All the treatment is consensual, and the goal is to help people long term.

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