Through this support, CBB has: 

• Reduced unnecessary emergency room visits by providing consistent, preventive care.

• Helped patients stabilize chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. 

• Built enduring relationships. We know when someone who has been overlooked for years finally feels seen, their health improves.

As we’ve grown from a small, volunteer-driven effort into a comprehensive, community-based model of care, one of the things I’m most proud of is that our guiding principles have not wavered. 

At CBB, we believe healthcare is a human right. We believe in care without appointments, insurance requirements, or judgment, and that trust makes healing possible. Additionally, our goal is the same as it was when we set out on this journey: to meet people where they are.

And that’s something we simply could not do without the continued support of organizations like GFiber. GFiber recently supported the launch of our new computer lab and digital navigation program at The Beehive, our stationary clinic. 

This resource, which offers six workstations and 30-minute guided seminars on essential skills like setting up secure email accounts and navigating medical records, is incredibly valuable to our patients. It’s an initiative that shows how our collaboration with a company like GFiber can truly help us change lives. 

Care Beyond the Boulevard: From Then to Now

Care Beyond the Boulevard was born from an issue I couldn't ignore: too many individuals experiencing homelessness were falling through the cracks of a healthcare system not designed for them. 

As a nurse practitioner working in Kansas City, I continuously saw barriers like transportation, stigma, lack of identification, and rigid systems that kept people from accessing even the most basic care. So, with CBB we stopped waiting for people to come to us. We went to them—to sidewalks, bridges, encampments, wherever someone calls home.

The CBB model is intentionally different because it needs to be. We practice street medicine, delivering care directly to individuals experiencing homelessness, and we pair that with clinic-based services, case management, and medical respite. We don’t just treat illness; we address conditions that create it. This can look like helping someone manage chronic disease while also working to secure housing, reconnect them with family, or navigate behavioral health needs.

One of our physician volunteers once said: “[Our patients] do more for us than we do for them.” That has always resonated deeply with me. Our volunteers and staff show up not just with clinical skills, but with compassion and humility. They listen, learn, and never judge. We walk alongside patients in some of their hardest moments. We treat everyone as a human, and it creates a more compassionate, deeper understanding of the complexities that led someone to be sleeping outside.

Our patients remind us every day why this work matters. We have patients who come to us and say, “I would have died without you.” This is not an exaggeration or something we take lightly; it underscores the need for the services we provide.

As we approach our 10-year anniversary, we are looking at this milestone as both a celebration and a call to keep pushing forward. We’re marking the moment with two major initiatives that represent the future of CBB.

First, our 10-year anniversary event will honor the community that has made this work possible, from volunteers and donors to partners and patients.

Second, and perhaps most transformative, is the groundbreaking renovation of our medical respite facility. This is a place where individuals experiencing homelessness can safely recover after hospitalization, a critical gap in our current system. Too often, people are discharged from hospitals back to the streets, where healing is nearly impossible. Medical respite changes that. It provides a bridge between acute care and stability, improving outcomes, and restoring dignity.

Our first decade at CBB was about turning an idea into something real that can positively impact the community. Our next chapter is about going deeper. Building something sustainable while staying true to the grassroots spirit that started all of this.

To those just learning about our mission, we invite you to join us. Whether it’s through volunteering, donating, advocating, or simply sharing our story, there is a role for everyone in this mission. And to the wonderful team at GFiber, your support means the world to us, and even more to the patients who rely on CBB for care they won’t get anywhere else.

At the end of the day, our work isn’t just about healthcare. It’s about community, equity, and ensuring nobody gets left behind.

Posted by Jaynell "KK" Assmann, Family Nurse Practitioner, Founder & CE