Social Justice

Social Issues Addressed This Week

This week we visited many organizations that addressed a variety of social issues in the Iowa City community. Some examples include mental health awareness, gaps in the health care system, lack of resources, and lack of medical access for children. The services provided by the organizations listed highlight these social issues and help combat them.

**p.s this is leftovers we did not feed this to anyone.

Ronald Mcdonald House

This week we visited the Ronald Mcdonald House in Iowa City and we prepared meals for the families staying there. In visiting them, we became aware that there are families who struggle in finding housing for their children while seeking medical attention in our local hospitals and the Ronald Mcdonald House provides them with the housing they need. In doing so, this organization is helping combat the issue many families face when it comes to providing a home for their children. The Ronald Mcdonald house gives families a sense of relief when it comes to finding housing and not having to worry about where their next meal will be coming from. Moreover, their service highlights the gaps within our health care system that need to be filled.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

This week on Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit NAMI and we helped them in marketing their annual 5k walk. During our visit, we were exposed to the reality that mental health is often overlooked in our health care system. However, this organization combats in fighting the stigma around mental health through their services. Offering a place for people to go to and simply talk to someone or go relax can bring multiple benefits for a community overall, especially in the mental health crisis happening right now. In addition, while at NAMI our host Katherine Mccullough mentioned how they are trying to get away from using the phrase "mental illness" and instead use "brain illness" to further combat the stigma and promote the importance of the brains condition within a person because at the end of the day the brain is an organ that should be taken care of as well as any other organ.

United Action for Youth (UAY)

The United Action for Youth program is an Iowa City-based organization that works on preventative action for troubled youth in the community. Their main goal is to address the lack of resources children have, whether that be providing a place for teens to go after school to keep them out of trouble or helping teen parents get the medical resources they need. UAY works with other organizations and systems in the community to help teens receive the proper tools to become successful adults. In doing so, UAY is greatly impacting the Iowa City community by working on preventative measures that will, in turn, better the community for future generations.

Healthy Kids Clinic

HKSBC works with the Iowa City community school district to give uninsured or underinsured kids medication or resources they otherwise wouldn't have access to. Their main purpose in the community is to fight against the lack of medical accessibility in Iowa City for kids.

Gems of Hope

On Wednesday we made earrings for Gems of Hope which is an organization that gives cancer patients a meaningful letter with pair of handmade earrings. In doing so, the organization is highlighting the neglect of a person's emotion while receiving their newly found diagnosis. Giving them a small gift after this strenuous news helps in making the acceptance of the news easier since it isn't an easy thing to process.

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