“I never lost connection with Community of Hope,” she said. “It is a place I trust and somewhere I have been for years.”
Jacqueline Aird is not intimidated by her trips to the doctor and dentist! At our Marie Reed Health Center that you have supported, she knows that the staff will greet her by name and that her doctors will talk to her like a long-time friend.
The reason why Ms. Aird is so comfortable with the facility, services and staff? Because she has been a Community of Hope patient for 35 years.
Ms. Aird got involved with Community of Hope when we were just a small health center in the basement of our first homeless shelter on Belmont Street, NW, where she and her mother lived. Now we are celebrating 35 years of providing compassionate, transformative services to families just like Ms. Aird’s. This year, because of your support, Community of Hope will give hope to 11,000 patients and 450 families emerging from homelessness.
When Ms. Aird first came to us for school physicals as a 16 year old, we had just become recognized as a non-profit organization. When she gave birth to her son and brought him in for primary care, we had just renovated our Girard Street Apartments to serve 20 homeless families. When she came to seek help for her diabetes, Community of Hope had just opened our largest health center, the Conway Health and Resource Center in Ward 8.
As Ms. Aird reached her life milestones, Community of Hope was right there, growing with her.
“I feel like I owe it to Community of Hope to do better.”
Since her involvement with Community of Hope, she has received many wraparound services including a health coach, diabetes group care and therapy. Today, she continues to come in for regular check-ups and chats with longtime physician, Dr. Thompson.
“When people talk about their doctor, I just smile because I am with Community of Hope.”
