Health Care Center for the Homeless
Volunteer of the Year Fernando Oliver
Sees A Higher Purpose

For Fernando Oliver, DDS, it was a calling. In the midst of a spiritual moment, he asked the Lord where he should serve. A week later, Dr. Oliver received a letter from the Health Care Center for the Homeless and took it as a sign. That was more than a decade ago, and he continues serving every month.

“I’m on a mission until I’m released from it,” he says. “I’ll continue my service until the good Lord gives me a sign otherwise.”

Dr. Oliver prefers to keep his volunteer efforts private, as he feels it’s simply something he has to do. And, he reasons, if he has to do it, then it shouldn’t be recognized or rewarded.

He actually enjoys his volunteer work even more than he enjoys his practice. The patients he serves at the center are so appreciative, so thankful, he says. He finds great satisfaction in helping them get back on their feet because they truly need his services.

“The biggest misconception about the center is that we’re dealing with people who enjoy being on the streets,” he says. “It’s simply not true. These are people from all walks of life who’ve just run into some bad luck.”

He does admit, however, that his first day there, he didn’t eat breakfast because he wasn’t sure of what he might see. But while he does treat some people who come in from the streets, most are involved in a program to get their lives back on track. He recalled one man, an engineer, who fell slave to his alcohol addiction and lost everything. His children didn’t even know he was homeless.

“This could happen to anybody — your brother, your sister, your mom,” Dr. Oliver says. “Volunteering helps you gain new insight, a greater compassion for fellow human beings.”

Fulfilling his commitment, Dr. Oliver performs general dentistry on the patients, from root canals to extractions and everything in between. He does just about all the procedures most volunteers don’t want to do, he says.
“It’s not just a wasted effort,” he says. “These are people who really want to be involved as productive members of society; they really want to turn their lives around.”

When there’s no money involved, and you’re working simply for the purity of helping others, it’s incredibly rewarding, he says.

“I have an obligation to give back to my community,” Dr. Oliver says. “Anyone who gives it a try will find it the most rewarding experience of their life.”

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