Last week I bought two bird feeders—one for the front yard and one for the back. I already had an iron shepherd’s hook style hanger planted in the front yard, so when I found the bird seed in the garage this weekend I filled one feeder and put it out. Then yesterday I showed up to the community garden and my neighbor was talking about a bear that came after her bird feeder last spring. I guess I’ll be buying another hook to hang on the back fence where bears can’t access my bird feeders.
This feels like everyday news lately. Yes, caring Americans are being shot by our own government’s agents while sitting in their cars with their hands on the wheel. And, we are suddenly dropping massive bombs on schools in Iran. And, there will be a bear in your front yard in a few weeks if you don’t move that bird feeder…. Ask for birds, get bears.
I’m not here to add to your anxiety load—I think that looking for ways to “be the helper” is the best antidote to these growing opportunities for fight or flight moments. Today I’m here to share a preemptive way to help the breast cancer community that just came to me this morning, before we start to see the scary headlines.
As I sat on zoom for an equity-in-breast-cancer summit put on by Komen’s patient advocacy program, I realized that I had a unique opportunity. There’s a Community Health Center that just reopened in a new building just a few miles south of me. Komen’s first speaker of the morning explained to us advocates what makes these nonprofit health care clinics special. Unlike most hospitals and clinics, which are now being run from a money-making perspective, these clinics are nonprofits. This makes them “social service” organizations and as such they are required to serve folks regardless of their ability to pay. With the coming effects of the “Big Beautiful” HR1 bill, we Americans will lose a trillion dollars worth of healthcare over the next ten years, and this will effect those in poverty most.
These clinics like the one that just reopened near me, are at risk of closing because over 10% of their clients won’t have coverage to pay for their services. When they close, folks in need in rural settings won’t have access to care. Others that do have access will turn it down due to costs. This is more bad news, but it’s early and if we start now we can turn the trend around.
I wrote a message on my community forum (a listserve, thankfully, since I’m not a facebook fan!) asking my neighbors to do three things:
Patronize the clinic for all of the services that they can: pharmacy, doctors, and alternative providers.
Donate money to the center and dedicate Kroger charitable dollars through our local “Fred Meyer Rewards” Community Rewards program.
Raise awareness across all of our circles of influence that this center is at risk, monitor it personally for quality and join the board if possible—we all need to own our local community health care centers and police any wayward behavior that happens in them so that they can keep up momentum in the coming years of lean-budgeting.
My bird feeder is still in the front yard as I type. I’m expecting to see a big brown furry figure in the window each time I look. But I have one in the back yard too now, which I see more often through the window over my kitchen sink. Fears are real. Our safety is paramount, and I’m sorry that our government isn’t honoring that right now.
Please use this tool to find your nearest community health center nonprofit, if you have time today. If you’re on facebook, you can easily post a community plea like the one I made to my listserve.
https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/