Deyanira, a community health worker shares how she met Anna and her twins at a pediatric visit.
Anna was new to the area and primarily spoke Spanish. She and her young twins had been living in a relative’s living room but eventually were asked to leave.
They spent the night in a nearby park.
She didn’t know anyone or where to go.
The next day she attended her children’s well-child visits. She told me, “This is all I know and it’s the only place that I really feel safe and accepted.”
We found Anna a family shelter and connected her to resources in the community. She disclosed her son had autism and our HealthySteps Specialist referred him to Early Intervention.
During a routine pediatric visit, HealthySteps set mom and her young children on a significantly better path.
The family’s story is so different now from the day we met them.
She’s working, has transportation, and her children are in school. Her son is receiving evidence-based autism therapy.
The things that come through the door day-to-day can shock you. But when you give someone the tools to have peace of mind, that they’ve needed for years, it’s an amazing feeling.
