SOS March Newsletter: Highlights of Hope

Help our new Wheelchair Clinic program!

STORIES FROM OUR FIRST FREE WHEELCHAIR REPAIR & CLEANING CLINIC

It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning when the SOS team popped up a tent in the VOCAL-KY parking lot and prepared for our first-ever wheelchair repair and cleaning clinic for unhoused members of the Louisville community. We had spread the word with help of several nonprofits who serve the homeless including VOCAL, Pushing Forward and Arthur Street, Salvation Army, but we weren't sure what to expect. These pop-up clinics are a new initiative supported by a Quality of Life grant from The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the goal expressed in our grant proposal was to serve 12 to 20 members of the disability community who are experiencing homelessness at each of our proposed 8 clinics The team didn't have much time to wonder how the first clinic would go; our first client appeared before set-up was finished. Richard, a retired marine, had a motorized chair that had never been serviced and the wheels were sluggish and slowing him down.

While 2024 Health & Hero Award winner Chris Maddox took the wheels off the chair, Richard shared stories of his life on the road as the owner of a small fleet of car transport trucks. "I've been in every state," he said. His favorite? Washington, where he and friends fished and cooked out on one long haul road trip. Juanita, who came in with a rickety rollator shared her struggles on the street: "I was sitting and crying on the curb one time because my back just hurt and someone walked out of their apartment and threatened to call the police." She was beaming when one of our technicians gave her a new, sturdy rollator with a comfortable seat, remarking, "I'll always have a place to stop and rest." She can also now take the bus for a rare visit with her cousin.

It was like that for the full three hours around the tent-- people were sharing their stories while our team of technicians including Chris, Local Program Manager Brian Jointer, Dennis Loeser, Amy Verst and Jocelyn Warren (who brought the grant opportunity to SOS) and Kiera James from Pushing Forward refurbished or replaced mobility aids and restored their owners' independence and access to services. Adam, who rolled in with his little dog, Roxy, on his lap, was tearing up as he said, "No one has ever done this before. It's just nice to know that somebody cares. All we ever see is people who have stopped caring."

After the success of this first event, we can't wait to plan the next one in June. Stay tuned for details and our next location-- to be announced soon. "I want to go where the need is and where people can get to us," says Jointer who was deeply touched by the first clinic. "Being able to help people who have waited so long for repairs was beautiful. This is why we do the work we do."

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A THANK YOU NOTE FROM GHANA

In a district without a single anesthesia machine, a shipment of 10,000 pounds of hospital supplies will change thousands of lives in an instant.

"I want to thank SOS Health and Hope for a 40-foot shipping container with over $500,000 in medical equipment," writes the Honorable Mustapha Ussif, a parliamentarian for the Yagaba-Kubori district who was our partner on the shipping container that was delivered just this month. "We now have the first anesthesia machine in our district ever. It is my prayer that every piece of equipment will be put to good use and help the people get the healthcare they deserve."

Because local clinics in Yagaba-Kubori are in such states of neglect, residents of the district often walk more than fifty miles on dirt roads to get to a hospital. The equipment sent by SOS through the efforts of the Honorable Mustapha will change that, providing six health centers-- Yagaba Health Center, Kubori Health Center, Tantala Health Center, Yezesi Health Center, Logri Health Center, and Kunkwa Health Center-- with state-of-the-art equipment that will help make long, dangerous walks by sick patients or families with sick children an exception instead of the norm.

The shipment also elevates maternal/child care in one of the most deprived areas in the region--by bringing essential bassinets, a labor and delivery bed, OB/GYN supplies and an infant warmer which will make childbirth safer for mothers and babies. "We thank SOS for their kind gesture and support which will boost the healthcare services within our district," the Honorable Mustapha shared. "Today, we are seeing a container full of medical equipment, tomorrow we will see improved primary medical services for our people."

MINI MED SCHOOL BROUGHT HANDS-ON LEARNING AND HOPE TO STUDENTS .

Close to a hundred students from JCPS high schools voluntarily signed up to spend their Saturday in school– mini med school, that is. The free, immersive program, held on Saturday, April 6, gave students– especially those from Title I schools– a taste of the medical school experience and the possibility of a bright future in medicine.

“You can’t be it if you don’t see it,” says SOS Education Manager Chanda Fowler. “This program will not only give these students an introduction to the many different types of careers in healthcare but it will also introduce them to the idea that they can do this– that a career in medicine doesn’t have to be just for someone else.”

THE SOS MOTHER'S DAY WISH LIST

Can you imagine if your mother didn't have shampoo to wash her hair or had to go without a brush or comb? The items below are low in our inventory and would be so appreciated by unhoused mothers in our community whom we serve. We would love to be able to replenish these items in time to distribute some self care essentials for Mother's Day.

BODY WASH

BRUSHES

COMBS

DEODORANT

FEMININE PROTECTION

SHAMPOO

CONDITIONER

Drop them at 1500 Arlington Ave, Monday through Friday, 8 to 4, or use our NEW Amazon Wish List to have them delivered to our door.

Cheers for our Volunteers!

In the last few weeks, we had school and corporate groups and families and friends in our warehouse sorting supplies-- many of which will go on a container to India next week.

Eastern Junior ROTC

Friends and Family of Nicole Phelps

Brown-Forman (with SOS Board of Directors President Jim Perry and Board Member Maria Castro-Leal)

If you're looking for a group outing that builds camaraderie and contributes to the greater good, SOS is a welcoming, collaborative environment where over 2,000 volunteers a year spread health and hope by carefully sorting medical supplies that will go to humans and animals in need.

Volunteer shifts can be scheduled Monday through Thursday, 9-12:00 or 1-4:00m or on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9-12:00. Evenings are occasionally available. Please join us!

Volunteer