Words by Smiley Team
With overburdened hospitals and health services, social isolation requirements, and rising food and economic shortages, the Covid-19 pandemic added another layer of difficulty to an already difficult situation.
With these statistics, organizations like Compassion Connect are desperately needed. They believe that any community can make a difference by coming together to serve its most vulnerable members, regardless of where it is located. The nonprofit has three areas of focus: health, anti-trafficking, and community resources.
“The community comes to Compassion Clinic to receive care," says clinic director, Ray Biggerstaff.
"We’re catching the people who are falling through the cracks of healthcare. We’re able to provide them with immediate care and refer them to ongoing care from there."
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Through the organization's 'Compassion Clinics', support staff are able to serve the most vulnerable members of their communities for their health – including low-income individuals and families, undocumented immigrants, refugees, and others.
"It's a free community health clinic led by local churches and supported by Compassion Connect," they say. "Each Compassion Clinic is designed to provide compassionate services to our neighbors who lack access to basic health care."
As many as a million people in the United States are sexually exploited each year, according to estimates – which is why the nonprofit provides support in this area through informing communities, empowering young women and men to be "victors, not victims", and helping survivors become "thrivers".
Another area of Compassion Connect's work is their "adopt an apartment" complex program. Here, they make connections with the community by setting up teams to work in low-income housing complexes with the help of local churches.
“It’s really neat to find that place for everybody, even though they might not think that there will be a place for them. And it’s just an amazing thing to see when you have people serving in their gifted areas,” says volunteer Debbie Engley.
Over the last decade, they've had the privilege of working alongside people from all over the country and the world who want to make their community a better place.
Get involved with Compassion Connect or donate to help them continue their work.
