Guests view photos taken by Roger LeMoyne at Beyond Barriers. (Photo: Christian Belisle)

They are the ones that are often overlooked by society: the homeless, the sick and the mentally ill. But among the hundreds who turn a blind eye to Ottawa’s homeless every day, there are those who take the time to care.

On the night of Nov. 30, health professionals and colleagues from around Ottawa gathered at the University of Ottawa Hospital Campus to attend Beyond Barriers, an exhibit celebrating health-care workers on the frontlines helping the less fortunate.

The exhibit looked into the daily lives of dozens of health professionals working with fragile and hard-to-reach patients in Ottawa and rural communities.

“We have to be able to understand what has happened in a person’s life beyond the actual illnesses that they’re experiencing and help them to recover their physical health, their mental health and their mind,” says Wendy Muckle, a co-ordinator of Beyond Barriers.

Through the series of pictures taken by photojournalists and led by Roger LeMoyne, guests caught a glimpse of lives destroyed by mental illness, poverty and disease and the healthcare workers who risk so much to help them.

Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull, president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association, organized the event through Inner City Health Incorporated and Frontline Health, a corporate initiative of drug company AstraZeneca.

Turnbull has worked with the homeless for a large part of his career and says he believes they deserve the same treatment as any other human being.

“We have people who would be living on the streets, but when you get to know them you would find out some of them have a PhD, they are engineers and have had enormous triumphs in their lives, but also huge catastrophes,” Turnbull says.

“They have a lot to offer and have made big contributions. Just because they fell, doesn’t mean we should stop providing services for them.”

Inner City Health, founded in 1998, has become a leader in improving the access to healthcare for people who are homeless and have complex health needs. The organization has been known for strange rehabilitation techniques.

“I am always being asked: Do you actually give alcohol to people? The answer is yes. We regulate their alcohol intake, it is much more practical then quitting cold turkey,” Muckle says.

Inner City Health has adopted several programs associated with homelessness and mental illness including the Management of Alcohol Program, Mission Hospice Program and the Special Care Unit for Women.

Turnbull makes daily rounds to shelters around Ottawa every day to give medicine and psychiatric care to the homeless.

“The whole point of the problem is to go where the people need help,” Turnbull says.

It means so much to Turnbull that he does his work with Inner City Heath for free. He says he does his work for the lasting relationships and the experience.

“The benefits of helping people and getting them through their hardships certainly exceed the difficulties that we get. The more you get to know them, the more you get invested in their well being,” Turnbull says.

Jack Kitts, president and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital, was present at Beyond Barriers and says he was proud to have such initiatives taking place in Ottawa.

“The  Inner City  Health Mission in  Ottawa is a shining example of how health care and social services can meet and collaborate to help the needs of the homeless and the poor,” Kitts says.

Kitts adds that initiatives such as Beyond Barriers show that people have their heart in the right place.

“I believe that people are naturally good and actually veering for something more than a flat screen TV, a fancy car, a nice home.  . . . We want to do something that means a lot, something that endures, something that benefits other people,” Kitts says.

“I believe that those who go beyond their day job get that wonderful sense of satisfaction knowing they are making a wonderful, positive difference.”