(1) There’s clearly a need for medical services in the community.  No, recent healthcare reform has not changed that, and I’ll blog on that topic more another day.

And (2) As an organization, our model has been to use the resources of our community to serve those in need in Brooklyn. One of those great resources is the medical professional in our churches and our larger network. We could take those professionals and, in the same way we’ve deployed lawyers and other volunteers to serve with their legal skills, we can send out these medical professionals to serve with their medical skills.  Makes sense to me. And of course, the entire endeavor demonstrates the love of Christ in a concrete way to a community in need.

Over the course of the last year, I’ve visited all of the Christian medical programs that I knew of in NYC, and met the directors of other programs in the state. I’ve gathered a lot of inspiration, and wisdom from these brothers and sisters.

So why don’t we have a clinic yet? One major issue in front of us is the regulatory hurdles in front of us.  In New York State, clinics must satisfy the same certification requirements that a major hospital must satisfy to open a free clinic. Think about that for a moment. While in other states, a group of well-meaning physicians can simply hang up a shingle (perhaps first going through the relatively easy and inexpensive process of forming a non-profit organization, perhaps not), in New York, you must have the capacity to survive a one to two-year process, known as an Article 28, with the necessary help of a consultant, at a cost of roughly $30-35,000 — with no guarantee that the state will approve your program.

So how are there other programs operating in the state? Many operate in a family practice model, which means there’s one brave doctor who operates the clinic as, essentially, a satellite office of his practice, giving free services at that site to anyone who comes. This avoids the problem of the so-called Article 28 process, but presents new challenges, like providing liability coverage for volunteers and getting tax exemption for donations to the clinic’s work.

We don’t yet have an answer to the problem. But God is providing advocates and friends to our cause to encourage us in our efforts. Many people would like to see us succeed, even if it’s not clear how we will. I’m not worried. I’m convinced that if God wants this medical ministry to happen, He will bring all the resources we need and more.

I’ll share more about what He’s done for us so far in future posts. In the mean time, please be praying about this endeavor and ask me about it the next time you see me!

~Sandhya

It’s not just that he knows rules like how long you have to wait to apply for a green card. TJ understands how to heal families. The questions like “How do I bring my husband to the US?” and “How do I bring my son here?” speak of families separated by thousands of miles, and a confusing system of immigration laws. TJ answers questions and starts to clear up the mysteries. Questions like “Who can apply as a refugee?” and “How can you prove persecution?” speak of even greater troubles, perhaps.

TJ patiently answers all these questions, explaining the intricacies of immigration law, while Fadia (the BAAFC program director) translates everything. The questions don’t stop for nearly two hours.

Suddenly someone asks the question “Is it legal to raise the rent on a tenant who is over 60 years old?”  TJ looks stunned. He looks at me. We both laugh! This is not his area of expertise! I jump up and answer the question, and a stream of housing law questions begin. We cut this line of questions short, so we can take full advantage of TJ while we have him. I will come back next month to answer their housing law questions.

The women ask these questions without any apparent concern or embarrassment because of the people around them in this small, packed room, listening to their questions, and then to the answers. They all have difficult questions to ask, and there’s no judgment here. They’re all here hoping for answers.

We are extremely grateful for our partnership with TJ Mills and the ministry of Justice for Our Neighbors, a project of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

To learn more about their program,  visit their website.

~Sandhya