Every so often, Timothy Hodgson visits homeless men living by the North Platte River with his pockets full of fliers, business cards and bus tokens.

"If you need health care, go here," he says, handing them fliers about the 12th Street Clinic, which exclusively serves the homeless. He adds bus tokens to help them get there.

The 12th Street Clinic on Life Steps Campus saved his life about two years ago, Hodgson said.

When Hodgson moved to Casper, he lived in a homeless shelter. Two months later, he suffered a heart attack and doctors at the hospital put him on seven different medications. One of them cost $90 a week.

"There was no way I could afford that," Hodgson said. The clinic helped get his medications for free.

"I probably would have had another heart attack," said Hodgson, who is now the manager at the Royal Inn. "I wouldn't be here."

Casper's homeless population is growing, said Denny Royal, executive director of Community Action Partnership of Natrona County. And while more people need its services, the clinic has had to cut staffing because of funding problems.

"We have less capacity to serve more people," said Royal, whose organization oversees the clinic.

"There is definitely a lack of housing in the community," he said. "There is an increasing number of people who can't afford an apartment."

Physician assistant Patricia Schull said her schedule is booked a month in advance. However, she sets aside time each day for walk-ins.

To qualify for the clinic's services, a person must be homeless, according to Schull. That could mean living on the streets, in a car, at a campground, in a motel or "doubled up" - staying with a family member or friend.

About 30 percent of the patients they see daily are one-time visitors. The other 70 percent are regular patients.

Since 1992, the clinic has offered a variety of medical services including women's exams, immunizations, suturing, HIV testing and other procedures.

"We try to keep people out of the ER," Schull said. "It's like an urgent care clinic."

The difference is in the cost: Visits are only $2 and if people can't pay, they are still seen, Schull said.

But more than that, Cheryl Wendland said, the clinic helped her get her life back.

After a divorce left Wendland without a home or money, she became suicidal.

"I would have committed suicide," she said, "but the people at the clinic got me balanced on my medications and gave me counseling. They made survival seem easier."

The clinic linked her to other services in the community. She said people at the clinic listened when she needed someone the most.

"I was treated with dignity and respect," Wendland said. "They showed me a smile. That's something [homeless people] don't get very often."

The clinic also offers mental health services and has a social worker on staff.

"It's more than just giving medications and exams," Schull said. "We make a connection. They know they have a place to go if they wake up with a cold. It gives them the strength to go to work."

A survey conducted on March 20 found 289 people living in Casper's shelters or on the streets. The figure didn't include the homeless in motels or on friends' couches.

There are at least nine long-term residents, who are looking for housing, at his motel, Hodgson said.

Royal said it's becoming harder to meet the need of Casper's homeless.

"The cost of doing business has gotten more expensive, and the federal grant is not keeping up with inflation," Royal said. "We've had to reduce our staff."

The clinic receives $408,000 a year from the federal government, which amounts to about 75 percent of its budget. The rest comes from Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and private donors.

The clinic is always looking for more funding sources, Royal said. His first concern is to hire a part-time physician assistant to help Schull.

Schull said she took a huge pay cut when she moved to Casper a little over a year ago from a teaching position at a school in Virginia.

But it has been worth it.

"I decided to only work in a place that feeds my soul," Schull said. "As you get older, it's not about the money or the place you live. It's about what your job does for your heart."

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.