Austin philanthropists John Paul and Eloise DeJoria donated $2 million to Dell Medical School this month to help people experiencing homelessness receive better health care. 

The donation, which came from the DeJorias’ JP’s Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation, will be used to create an endowment to fund the expansion of Dell’s street medicine programs, research and training for future doctors working with people experiencing homelessness, according to a press release. 

“This allows us to maybe take a step back and breathe and strategize,” said Tim Mercer, director of Dell’s Global Health program. “But … now we’ve really got to get going and work even harder to build programs and bridges and to achieve our mission, which is ultimately to improve the health of vulnerable populations.”

Mercer leads Dell’s work to provide health care to people who are unhoused in Austin through partnerships with organizations like CommUnityCare Health Centers, a network of primary care clinics, and Integral Care, Travis County’s mental health authority. Mercer said these partnerships help provide holistic medical care by bringing providers together to serve the community and remove barriers to access care.

“Sometimes that includes getting out of our clinics and going see someone at their campsite or under the bridge or meeting them in a park,” Mercer said. 

Mercer said his team is highly involved in providing the city’s COVID-19 response to Austin’s homeless population. The team partnered with Austin Public Health and the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition to provide testing, vaccinations and protective housing to vulnerable people in the community for the duration of the pandemic, according to a press release.

John Paul DeJoria, also a co-founder of hair care company John Paul Mitchell Systems, said he once experienced being homeless himself, and it feels wonderful to be in the position to help people.

The DeJorias’ foundation always focused on housing accessibility, but the pandemic made the health care needs of Austin’s homeless population more apparent, said Constance Dykhuizen, the foundation’s executive director. The foundation previously gave $350,000 to Dell to help stop COVID-19 from spreading among Austin’s homeless community. 

DeJoria said the decision to donate was a no brainer. He said the endowment will ensure that people continue to pay attention to the homeless population in Austin even when the pandemic ends.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the March 30 issue of The Daily Texan.