After a serious car accident in 2024, Amanda spent eight months away from her daughter while she was in the hospital and rehab, learning how to walk again. During that time, she lost her Section 8 voucher and ended up coming to Water Street with her daughter. 

“I felt down on myself because I had to bring my daughter to a shelter,” Amanda remembers. 

But when her daughter arrived that first night, she stepped out of the car and said, “Mommy, I’m home”. That moment changed something for Amanda. She realized that for her daughter, it didn’t matter where they were. What mattered was that they were together again. 

As Amanda worked to rebuild, her health had been pushed aside for a long time — including her dental health. “For a while, I wasn’t really taking care of my health, whether it was my mental health, physical health, dental, any of that,” she says. 

So, when dental care became available through Water Street Health Services, it came at just the right time. She had been dealing with pain for a long time. She had a cavity. She needed a root canal. One day, before a scheduled appointment, the pain became unbearable. 

“I was crying,” Amanda says. “I came down [to the clinic], I was like ‘I can’t do it’.” The dental team made space for her, helped her feel comfortable, talked through her options, and let her choose what she wanted to do. 

“Everybody here is really nice. They helped a lot. Not just with the pain, but they made me feel confident because of the way that I look now.” 

— Amanda, WSM Guest

For Amanda, the care she received brought relief from pain. But it also helped restore something deeper. “Everybody here is really nice,” she says. “They helped a lot. Not just with the pain, but they made me feel confident because of the way that I look now.” 

That is why this kind of care matters. A toothache is never just a toothache when it keeps someone from sleeping, eating, smiling, or feeling like themselves. Through Water Street Health Services, neighbors experiencing homelessness receive dental care that restores dignity and reminds them they are worth far more than they’ve been told.