Healthy Sisters

Program Overview

Our Healthy Sisters program provides rides to and from their health related appointments for women who have experienced homelessness. These rides are given by volunteer drivers from different congregations of faith and ensure that the women will attend their appointments and with some driver follow-up complete necessary after care tasks.

In 2013 the program expanded and began offering monthly workshops for women who have experienced homelessness around the health related issues like diabetes, menopause, and dealing with stress.

What We Are Trying to Accomplish

Healthy Sisters is working to ensure that our ladies are able to get to and from their health related appointments. By simply providing riders, drivers are doing more than they ever realize. For the providers they are saving the "missed appointment" costs. For our ladies they provide a means to achieving important goals whether that's completing necessary counseling appointments to get their kids back or helping someone with chronic conditions get a handle on them and thus live a fuller and happier life.

More importantly both the drivers and passengers often find a lasting connection with another human being through their conversations in the car.

One of our ladies receiving rides has often said that while she "greatly appreciates the rides what matters more is the time spent getting to know the amazing drivers who give their time and heart to this work."

One of our drivers states, "The women I have met have been delightfully open and incredibly appreciative of the opportunity to have a ride especially as the appointments take an enormous amount of time out of their day when they are required to take public transportation...This program has opened my eyes, mind and heart to the incredible needs within my own community and I believe I have been more blessed than the women for whom I have provided a ride."

Goals of the Program

Healthy Sisters is working towards

• Improving the health and well being of women who have experienced homelessness
• Decreasing the number of missed appointments for our Healthy Sisters
• Supporting the development of relationships and community between faith communities and formerly homeless women

Outcomes

In 2013, Healthy Sisters provided 56 rides for women and this year are projected to double the number of rides. We have also expanded our partnerships to new agencies around the Portland Metro Area.