The evening begins with a small group of medical volunteers joining hands in prayer before the doors open to residents of Dallas Life Foundation, a homeless shelter in downtown Dallas. The group consists of two physicians, four nurses, one physical therapist, and a retired firefighter. Twice a week, the clinic offers free medical services and over-the-counter medications to those in need.

As DCMS director of community service, I had gone to DLF to meet with its clinic director, Charlene Lawrence, RN, to discuss her need for physician volunteers. I took my 14-year-old daughter, thinking it would be an eye-opener to see that not all teen-agers have cell phones, beepers, and the latest designer fashions. What I thought would be a compassion lesson for her, ended up a life application for me.

We walked through the doors of the 110,000-square-foot converted warehouse, and I wondered what brought the volunteers back week after week-especially the physicians who had busy practices, but still took time to volunteer in the evening. Later it became evident that they believed by touching the physical, the heart would receive the spiritual.

In operation since 1962, the homeless shelter initially could help only 25 men each day. Decades later, the DLF provides three meals, clothing, and shelter to 500 men, women, and children. DLF also offers job training, GED assistance, counseling, legal services, self-improvement training, permanent housing assistance, and medical services.

The medical clinic sees about 50 people at each of its two evening clinics. When Ms Lawrence retired from nursing she began to volunteer at DLF, not realizing she would one day, with the help of several physician volunteers, set up its medical clinic. Craig A. Bolton, MD, a Dallas ophthalmologist, answered Ms Lawrence's call for help. Dr Bolton says that although he had been on several short-term mission trips, he responded because he felt "a need to take care of the local."

When DCMS surveyed its 3700 active members to learn their thoughts and interests regarding community service, an overwhelming 10 percent responded. The No. 1 interest of DCMS physicians was medical missions, but many physicians don't realize that Dallas has its own medical mission field. Physicians don't have to fly to a third-world country to help those in desperate need of medical attention.

Dallas Life Foundation believes it is commissioned to care for those who call the train station, car, or bridge underpass "home." With no permanent home, these people lose many of the rights that others take for granted. Almost 25 percent of the homeless have jobs, but they lack the discipline to budget money for food, clothing, or shelter. DLF's goal is to break the cycle of homelessness by educating them about life-style changes.

That evening I learned about a family of seven that was forced into homelessness after the father couldn't provide for his family on his $35-a-day-job. Physician volunteer Charles R. Cain, MD, says he calls many of the patients who come through the clinic "touchers," and this is exactly what Dr Cain did with the children in that family. Dr Cain says they simply want someone to hold their hand and talk with them.

As my daughter and I left that evening for the comfort of our own home, we were challenged by the group-these few volunteers who quietly go about offering their best and not expecting anything in return. Through their acts of kindness, they demonstrated what matters the most. The lesson affected me as much as my daughter: It's not about the car we drive, the clothes we wear, or how much is in our bank account, it's about what we do with the talents and blessings we've been given to help those who need it the most.

If you'd like to join Drs Craig A. Bolton, Charles R. Cain, Marvin C. Culbertson Jr, Marvin C. Culbertson III, Kerry Inzer, Louis C. Johnston, Charles C. Tandy, and David C. Usrey in reaching out to the underserved of the community, contact Connie Webster, DCMS director of community service, at 214-948-3622 or connie@dallas-cms.org.