A True Story of Solidarity in Action

Just weeks earlier, on September 20, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, claiming many lives and leaving widespread destruction in its wake. In response, the people of Holyoke, Massachusetts, mobilized. Residents and local leaders joined forces to send food and clothing to the island and to welcome newly arrived families to their town. What followed was a powerful expression of community and compassion.

The Holyoke Health Center, in collaboration with the Family Resource Center at Enlace de Familias, played a pivotal role in this local relief effort. Enlace was designated a federal ‘welcome center’ for those displaced by the hurricane. The center quickly became a hub of resources, offering a one-stop support system for those navigating immense loss and transition. Families received help finding housing and employment, transferring social security benefits, and accessing healthcare.

Our team—the Integrated Behavioral Health team at Holyoke Health Center—established a psychological first aid station at Enlace. We offered trauma-informed support and helped newly displaced individuals connect with health and community resources. That experience still shapes my thinking today, as I reflect on how we might expand our healthcare teams’ presence and impact within the community.

Disasters, whether natural or human-made, often prompt us to act on our values. Sometimes, they push us to cross physical, emotional, or ethical boundaries—to reach those in need or to avoid being complicit through inaction. Yet in the face of crisis, feelings of anxiety, denial, confusion, detachment, and helplessness can create a gap between what we value and how we respond.

The Time is Now

Now is a critical time to close that gap. If we want to be part of the solution, we must reflect on what we stand for—and how we show up for others. Where can we start?

• We must understand how the current policies impact access to care and identify policy-related barriers faced by our patients and families.

• An integrated care champion could be selected to represent the clinic in meetings with community agencies, and community representatives should be included on the Clinic Advisory Boards.

• Relevant educational resources should be disseminated, such as “A Guide for Families Affected by Crisis and Displacement” by Sesame Workshop, available in multiple languages.

Engage, Empower, Encourage

On a recent webinar hosted by ZERO TO THREE HealthySteps, Dr. Omolara Thomas offered the following recommendations to advocate for the communities we serve:

• Engage patients in non-targeted ways, asking the same questions to all patients, to gauge how government policies are impacting them. In addition to a standardized screening, care enhancers who are trusted members of the community could be involved in these discussions and deployed for support.

• Empower patients by establishing partnerships with legal advocates, collecting and sharing relevant legal information, and keeping them informed and up to date. Collaboration with a legal aid organization could include establishing an on-site legal clinic when feasible.

• Encourage action among the staff and distribute a newsletter, ideally in partnership with community organizations, to disseminate relevant policy content, provide education on the relationship between policy and health, and list updated available supports and advocacy efforts.

For more ideas, you can access the resources developed by Alma, CFHA’s chatbot. Those include a community integration roadmap and an immigrant-inclusive integrated care training toolkit, as well as the tips for success listed below.

Key Principles for Success

• Center patient voice in every phase.

• Emphasize bi-directional collaboration.

• Don’t wait for perfection—start with pilot partnerships.

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Photo by Kevin Butz on Unsplash