Introduction

Let me introduce myself. My name is Jill; I would like to tell you that I am a middle aged female, but since I have no intention of living to be 112 years old, I am past that middle aged thing. I am a white Anglo-Saxon protestant female, who finds herself rather unexpectedly working with the low-income uninsured residents in our community. I say unexpectedly, because I never envisioned myself in this place – doing this work, and yet, it seems that my whole life has prepared me for this. As I travel on this journey we call life, I am amazed at how the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. For me, it is proof that God exists. For others, it might just be fate, or circumstance. But I see God in all that I do and in all that I am.

This blog is my attempt to share the stories of my own journey, but more importantly the stories of the staff, volunteers and patients in a free clinic, located in the basement of an Episcopal Church in a rural Midwestern town. It is a specific place, but the stories could be anyone – anywhere. And that is the point of my blog – to share stories that are about people – the people struggling in this economy to keep their families fed; the people for whom healthcare is a luxury they just can’t afford; and the people who give of their time and talent to make some form of healthcare available.