HELP is on the Way!
Thanks to a challenge grant from Tufts Health Plan Foundation, The Second Step will soon be piloting a new Health Education and Literacy Program (HELP) that will help survivors overcome the barriers they may face in attending to their own and their children’s health needs.
When survivors come to The Second Step, they are typically juggling many priorities – overcoming trauma, finding a place to live, learning job skills, settling their children into school, applying for benefits, and a host of other items that must be addressed when starting over. Amid competing priorities, health care is often overlooked. Those who are new in town may not know where or how to find a health provider. Non-English speakers may feel shut out of the health care system because of inability to access written materials or communicate with providers. Many are challenged to find transportation to health providers, or care for a child during a parent’s medical appointment. And some, because of past abuse, may avoid medical treatment.
The new HELP program will address, systematically, each barrier that may stand between a survivor and health care. And to assure that health care remains on each client’s “front burner,” HELP will feature an ongoing series of educational modules with topics including gynecological health, well baby checkups, mental health services, dental care, nutrition and exercise, and other health topics.
We are proud that many other funders have stepped forward to help us meet Tufts’ challenge to raise additional funds for HELP. These supporters include Boston Scientific Foundation, the Campbell & Hall Charity Fund, the Carl & Ruth Shapiro Foundation, Genzyme Corporation, and McKesson Health Foundation.
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