Kadlec outreach program assisting Othello community

OTHELLO — Kadlec Regional Medical Center, based in Richland, has entered the fifth month of providing a pilot outreach program to Othello community members in need, called “One Day at a Time.”

The program was created by Kadlec Community Health Worker Maria Perez, who runs a similar program in Tri-Cities called Homegrown Connect. Both programs focus on providing food, supplies, assistance and company to individuals in their respective communities. 

Perez outlined the basics of the Tri-Cities program, and the Othello program’s influence.

“We were able to partner with libraries here in Pasco, and every month we do free breakfasts, we do free haircuts, free phones, insurance information if they need it,” she said. “We also try to bring in substance abuse treatment. If they want to be out of the streets, we help them out to get connected with housing.”

The Othello program serves a similar purpose, with a focus on impoverished areas of the city, Perez said.

“So it's pretty much more about building connection; interact with people, sit down, eat with them, share the meal and talk about their stories and their goals and what they really want and their struggles,” Perez said. “I've been running (the Tri-Cities) program for the last year and a half, and I was raised in Othello and I thought that I see the need in people over there too, and I see the increase of homeless, the increase of substance abuse.”

Perez elaborated on the Othello pilot.

“We do outreach every Saturday,” she said. “(Last) Saturday, we were able to give like 25 blankets, and clothes and food, and we were able to build trust with, I would say, 30 individuals … We're working with them, just bringing them hope and a warm meal, because I know that often it's a struggle.”

Perez said the program is primarily volunteer-operated and relies on donations of food and supplies, but that awareness of the program has not spread much in the community. 

“I think it's because we still haven't broken the stigma of speaking out about what the situation is, but we're hoping to get there,” Perez said. “I am getting partnerships with a couple of locations here (in Tri-Cities) and I am bringing a little bit of what I have here over there (in Othello).”

Perez said the outreach team is a mix of Othello and Pasco volunteers.

“I get people from here, from Pasco, that are like, ‘Hey, I want to go with you, can I come?’ Yes, come, come and serve, because we need that help,” she said. “And in Othello, I have close to 14 volunteers.”

The team doesn’t focus only on poor neighborhoods but also walks through the city’s parks and visits the Othello Public Library. 

“We also bring food baggies from St. Vincent de Paul (Food Bank) to the Othello Library, because I noticed that when I was little, I used to go to the Othello library and I used to wait a long time because I had to wait for my dad to get home. So I noticed that a lot of kids, they go to the libraries and they're starving, and just bringing little snacks to the library, it's a way to interact and build trust and break the stigma of poverty.”

The program depends on community support to keep operating.

“I was able to partner with Restoration Market. It's a market that we have here in Tri-Cities, and they opened a 24-hour shelter,” Perez said. “They provide us items like bread, oranges, apples, stuff like that … Last week, I had a client that needed diapers. Somebody from the community gave me $100 and another woman gave me $50, and with that money, I will go and buy whatever they need.”

Perez said she has struggled with finding more partners and agencies to assist with the program in Othello, but she hopes it will expand in the future and more people will join in.

“It takes time,” she said. “It takes more than one person to help out.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

    A resident of a homeless encampment near Othello rides in front of a non-functional motor home. Encampments like this are serviced by Kadlec Regional Medical Center’s Othello and Tri-Cities outreach programs, which provide food, supplies and company.
  

    Supplies destined for Kadlec Regional Medical Center’s Othello outreach program “One Day at a Time” include blankets, food, clothing and hygiene items.
  

    Food waits to be passed out to Othello community members in need as part of the “One Day at a Time” outreach program coordinated by Kadlec Community Health Worker Maria Perez.