An artist, gamer, and movie lover, Curtis McLaughlin (above) has been part of the Health Care for the Homeless Art Group for more than five years.
Art is one of my coping skills. I can be anywhere and create art wherever I go.
07.22.19
Lutheran Volunteer Corps member Hannah Wright reflects on her year as a Spanish Medical Interpreter
Q: Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) and Health Care for the Homeless have a long partnership.
Yes, President & CEO Kevin Lindamood started as an LVC volunteer 26 years ago! LVC is turning 40 this year, so for more than half that time Health Care for the Homeless has hosted volunteers like me.
Q: You’re from Illinois. Why did you choose to volunteer in Maryland?
I worked at a free clinic in college, where we helped people with things like antibiotics for infections and prenatal visits, but we couldn’t address the root of their problem, which was often unstable housing. I was drawn to Health Care for the Homeless because it tackles both health care and housing as barriers to well-being.
Q: What have you learned from this volunteer year?
Our clients are some of the most patient people you’ll ever meet. They wait weeks to see a specialist because they’re uninsured or underinsured. They wait years to get housing vouchers. Clients being patient and their willingness to accept help (both hard things to do) have taught me to keep a cool head and ask for help when I need it.
Q: What’s next for you?
I’m applying to medical school! I think that the on-the-ground experience of caring for people builds the best leaders, which I hope to be some day.
Have you volunteered, trained or interned here? Share your story here.
An artist, gamer, and movie lover, Curtis McLaughlin (above) has been part of the Health Care for the Homeless Art Group for more than five years.
Art is one of my coping skills. I can be anywhere and create art wherever I go.
Client storytelling is a staple of the nonprofit business model, ever present in advocacy, clinic tours, fundraising—and news articles like the one you are reading right now.
The Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition (TRAC) has been the driving force in championing trans rights policy changes in Maryland. Due to stigma and structural discrimination, transgender people—particularly transgender people of color—experience high rates of homelessness. Following the implementation of the Trans Health Equity Act in January, we talked with TRAC leadership about their work and community.
Since starting in January 2022, REI Health Specialist Arie Hayre-Somuah, LMSW, MPH has worked with our clinical teams to identify health disparities and move us closer to health equity. This year, she is turning her focus to the topic of health literacy.