Yale School of Medicine Auction Raises Over $20,000 to Fight Food and Housing Insecurity in New Haven

“Are you ready to spend some money?”

With that question, David Brissette, MMSc, PA-C, associate director of student affairs for the Physician Associate Program, opened bidding at the 32nd annual Hunger and Homelessness Auction on Feb. 20 in Yale School of Medicine’s (YSM) Med Café.

Organized annually by students in the MD and PA programs, the event raises funds for nonprofits working to alleviate issues of food and housing insecurity in the community.

Auction items were donated by students, faculty, and staff in YSM and Yale School of Public Health and comprised items such as restaurant gift cards, handmade knitwear, one-of-a-kind art pieces, and a highly coveted bow tie.

Those who couldn’t make the live event were able to participate in the silent auction hosted online, which opened one week before the live auction.

Auctioneers Brissette; Jeremy Moeller, MD, MSc, associate dean for MD curriculum; William Stewart, PhD, associate professor of surgery (gross anatomy); and David Rosenthal, MD, associate professor of medicine (general medicine), kept the bidding lively throughout the evening as attendees raced to outbid each other.

In total, the auction raised over $20,000. Some of the top items included Barry Wu’s white coat ($3,000), Stewart’s bow tie ($2,750), and two Boston Red Sox box tickets ($850).

This year’s planning committee members included PA students Jessica Wang, Lauren Maldonado, Katherine Trowbridge, and Saima Firoj; and MD students Jerónimo Reyes Olmedo, Stacy Ahn, Chizobam Ugboaja, Maddie Jewell, Kashif Qureshi, and Ramy Ahmed.

Wang, who worked as the auction business chair, was humbled by the experience. “Reaching out to local businesses for the auction showed me a side of New Haven I hadn’t fully appreciated before ... There is a vibrant network of small businesses, artists, and community leaders who care deeply about their community and are willing to give back despite any struggle of their own. From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to thank everyone who supported, donated, attended, or contributed to the auction in any way. Your support allows us to keep making meaningful strides within New Haven, even amid the busy and rigorous demands of our academic lives.”

All proceeds from this year’s live and online auctions benefited Community Soup Kitchen, Unhoused Activists Community Team (U-ACT), Good Neighbors Community Fund, Community Health Care Van (CHCV), and Christian Community Action.

Community Soup Kitchen was established in 1977 as a way to address food insecurity in New Haven. The kitchen serves over 70,000 meals each year, and provides boxed hot meals to shelters, warming centers, churches, and other places in need.

U-ACT is an organization advancing the rights of unhoused people in New Haven. U-ACT comprises members who are currently or formerly unhoused New Haven residents as well as housed allies who engage in direct action, meetings with elected officials, research, education, and mutual support to affect change.

Good Neighbors Community Fund supports the provision of food for unhoused people in New Haven’s Hill neighborhood and people at risk of becoming unhoused.

CHCV is a mobile clinic that provides medical and harm reduction services throughout neighborhoods in New Haven. CHCV routinely screens for HIV/HCV/STIs, and provides services related to substance use disorders (including Suboxone), wound care, and PrEP.

Christian Community Action supports families and individuals in crisis by providing essential services ranging from emergency food and housing assistance to childcare and employment resources. The organization works to foster long-term stability and empowerment through leadership development, community organizing, and advocacy for policy change.