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edge of skid row, Nancy headed there. Parking, she loaded a bag with basic medicines, disposable thermometers, a stethoscope and blood pressure gauge, and walked into the park.

Taking a deep breath, Nancy called out, "Night nurse here. Free medical help. Need help? I'm the night nurse. No cops, just a nurse to help you."

Heads slowly appeared from under dirty blankets, out from sleeping bags and from behind strips of cardboard, the makeshift homes of makeshift people. Later, Nancy recalled they stared at her with a mixture of disbelief, curiosity, fear and suspicion. To seem less threatening, Nancy sat on a bench and waited for people to approach her.

It took about 15 minutes for someone to finally approach. She was a woman in her late 20s with the ragged face of a crack addict. Nancy smiled at her, asking how she could help.

"Any tampons?" the girl haltingly asked.

Nancy dug a half dozen from her bag and handed them to her, asking, "Do you have cramps?"

The woman nodded and Nancy gave her a few packets of aspirin.

A man asked if she had any coffee or cigarettes. Nancy didn't, but promised to bring some next time. She noticed an open, bleeding sore on his hand and gave him a bandage, suggesting he go to an emergency room to have it looked at in the morning. "It'll be free," she assured the fellow.

The two were her only patients that first night. After an hour, Nancy packed her bag and figured building trust would take time.

It did. For five months, Nancy worked alone, treating everything from wounds to diabetes to colds and flu. As word spread, some nights she found a line waiting for her. It was becoming a full-time job, and she needed support.

Then a newspaper got wind of what Nancy was doing. It ran a full page article about the "Night Nurse" and the care she gave. Suddenly, nurses from around the city were calling to volunteer. Medical supply companies offered to donate material. A local pharmaceutical company found a few physicians who offered to help a couple of night a week. One anonymous philanthropist tracked down a discarded EMS ambulance, refurbished it as a small office-exam room and donated it to Night Nurse, now set up as a tax-deductible charity thanks to a lawyer who completed and filed the paperwork for free.

Night Nurse now treats about 150 people per week, refers between 10 and 20 to hospitals for urgent care or more complicated exams, and is largely self-supporting. There've been no incidents of volunteers being hurt or even threatened by the people they treat.

Nancy Cameron was one woman inspired by an idea. On her own, she inspired a city to do a better job of looking after its less fortunate.

Learn more about this author, Charley James.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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