American Expert with Celebrity Dentist, Jay Grossman
Q: I am talking to Dr. Jay Grossman about his acclaimed charity, Homeless Not Toothless. Can you tell us about the start of Homeless Not Toothless and how it was conceived?
I finished a tour of duty as a dentist in the United States Navy and I opened up my practice in Brentwood, CA which is literally within walking distance within the VA in Los Angeles. I noticed there was always a veteran near the traffic lights with a sign saying “I am a veteran, please help and give money for food” and I was always concerned about giving them money not knowing if it was going to drugs and alcohol or actually their meal. One day when I was reaching into my wallet, I saw my business cards, and literally in a moment, instead of grabbing a dollar I gave him my business card and said my office was within walking distance from here. I told him I would give him a lot more bang for his buck by treating his teeth, getting him out of pain, and giving him some false teeth so he can look good and get a job. At that moment, Homeless Not Toothless was born.
Q: How many years ago was that?
29 years ago.
Q: During that 29 years, how much money have you donated to homeless dental care?
We just completed our 60,000th patient and estimate the value of the treatment we have provided to be just over $5 million.
Q: Has this been done all without government help?
That is correct.
Q: Do you believe that having run this charity so successfully, because it was a private sector initiative, it is more effective than say a government care initiative?
I am not a huge fan of how bloated government programs get and that is a concern so many people have. Yet, the government has such deep pockets and I understand why people would like government-sponsored projects. But, I have been able to keep a few things in check which I am very proud of. The first is the salaries; our entire salary for our $1.3 million budget each year is a whopping $1. So, there are very few places that work with literally no money going towards salaries.
Q: How do you do that? You indicate you can run a $1.3 million charity on $1 a year. How do you do so?
I have been very fortunate and I have gotten other ventures in and outside of dentistry that sustains me, including my dental practice. This is something that is my passion and love so I volunteer my time for it. We also have a thousand other volunteers that take their time and donate their services. So, it has helped that nearly 98% of the money raised is going directly to patient care, not to the typical “non-profits” where CEOs are making millions of dollars. So, I took the two things that are the most expensive off the table. The first is salaries and the second is rent. I let the homeless population, with volunteers in my office, pay no rent. So, if you take out rent and salaries from any business you suddenly have something that would be running very, very efficiently.
Q: Has there been any notable success stories during the 29-year journey
I can think of endless conversations. In the very, very beginning days, I can think of helping somebody out and about 9 months later my wife and I were looking for a house and we were looking in the Brentwood area at this open house. The realtor we had was a past homeless patient. I didn’t recognize him at first and he came up to me and said “Dr. Grossman, right? Because of that, I was able to get back into real estate and now sell Brentwood houses. That is what the program is mainly about, to get people back and contribute to society.
Q: You are an example of someone who has done well by doing good. Meaning you have incorporated charity into your for-profit dental practice and they have supported one another. Can you talk about that for a minute?
I am a big advocate of giving back, especially in the communities that have been so generous in giving someone a livelihood. I have been in Brentwood for 30 years now and am committed to the Brentwood-Los Angeles area where the nearly 13,000 patients who have honored me in coming into my office. So, to give back to the community is a win-win. My patients are happy to contribute and make donations every single year in the 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars. They see the good we are doing in the community, getting people off the street, getting them back into jobs, getting them to be tax-paying citizens, and they are thrilled to support this in their own backyard.
