If you follow health care stuff at all, you are probably aware that access to quality (or even competent) care is not just an issue of money. Doctors make assumptions about who you are that are based on what you look like, that then affect how they hear your complaints, & what treatment they recommend (if any). Women, for example, have battled sexism in the doctor's office for decades, knowing that their symptoms aren't just "in their heads." LGBT people & people of color also face barriers caused by the bad ideas in some doctors' heads. For example, there is a very famous transgender author who writes about being thrown out of an emergency room (and into a snowstorm, I might add), despite a 104-degree fever caused by endocarditis, once the doctor realized he was transgendered.
Lyon-Martin Health Services is a clinic that was started in 1979 to address the barriers to health care that lesbians were facing in San Francisco. Since then, they have expanded their scope to accept patients from many walks of life, and even in San Francisco in 2013, Lyon-Martin is still one of the only places where some people can get quality, culturally appropriate health care at an affordable cost.
Being a community clinic, they rely on community support for a large part of their funding. I believe that the service Lyon-Martin provides to San Francisco is essential and irreplaceable, and that's why once again I'm participating in their annual "30 Days of Health" fundraiser.
The idea behind "30 Days" is that you choose one thing you want to do to improve your health & ask people to sponsor you to do it each day for the month of May. Then, by May 31, you have built a new, healthy habit, Lyon-Martin has raised a bunch of money, & since Lyon-Martin is a 501(c)3, all the donors have a new tax deduction. Everyone wins!
I've done "30 Days" for three years running. This year, my project is to start jogging with Zoey. For me, it will be about building fitness, and for her, it will be about building fitness, as well as learning that on this kind of trip, she can't stop and sniff every tree trunk we pass. Daunting, but doable! Plus, one of our dog trainers also tells me that running is good for nervous dogs, because they have less time to focus on scary things (ex. a big truck going by). So hopefully this will also contribute to reducing her overall level of anxiety, as well.
If you are able to support my project & make a donation to Lyon-Martin, please go to my fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/christinedarosa/30DaysofHealth2013 The site is totally secure, & again, the donation is tax deductible.
Thank you for reading my pitch!
Excellent work!
ReplyDelete