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Work is being done in Spicewood, TX to improve its residents' overall health and wellness. Nurse Christine and Nurse Practitioner Candace have joined the local foodbank and Helping Hands Ministry and are working hard to assess the local community's needs and develop personalized care plans to improve their overall health and access to care.
The benefits the local community has seen from, what we are calling the Social Rx Project, have been countless. One resident wrote us a letter:
"Helping Hands is a major reason that I am getting back on my feet. I have Long Covid; with symptoms that are still not well understood by the medical community and no protocols in place for the complexity of this disorder. I was slipping into financial, emotional, and physical rock bottom.
I discovered Helping Hands from the electric company and was surprised to learn the Food Pantry was right down the street from me! I met Christi and Candice that first day. I was able to get healthy foods, some gas money, and they paid my PEC bill so my lights could stay on.
More importantly, they gave me hope, and promised not to let me fall through the cracks. They called to check up on me. I live alone and have been isolated since 2020. Candice came to my house and helped me organize my medications and identify the ones that may counteract with one another.
She helped me go online and get SNAP (food stamps), and other state benefits. Christi guided me towards other agencies that give specific help, like filing my taxes!
The empathy and kindness that I was given has helped me in ways that many might not understand. Hope is a powerful tool that guides and motivates. Having a community that supported me was the key to me getting back on my feet. I see how people get so overwhelmed they give up and become homeless, and mentally unstable. This organization intervened for me, before that happened.
I especially appreciate Christi and Candice for the extra time and effort they gave to me. Having someone that listens, believes in you, and is nonjudgmental, is so important.
The kindness that the entire Helping Hands community gave me is the reason I am currently creating my “new normal”. I will always need help, but I now have systems in place that will allow me to help myself. This is no small thing. My life is not so overwhelming, and I have found my path forward.
Helping Hands is needed during these difficult times. They “show up” and help people help themselves. I now have faith in humanity and in myself, again.
There are no words appropriate enough to express how much HH has done for me. We need each other, to know that someone cares, we need the physical presence of someone. Just a simple helping hand can save a person’s life."
The caring and compassion that comes with nurses has the power to heal, if we only just provide the resources to allow it to do so. Stay tuned for more updates from this ground breaking program.