When it seems many organizations are moving to the suburbs to escape problems associated with inner-city living, Central Dallas Ministries and Church Health Ministries have done the opposite. They believe that by investing time and effort into the community and partnering with churches, schools, and businesses, communities can be strengthened to thrive and grow.
Many inner-city residents battle daily with challenges associated with poverty, unemployment, drug abuse, hunger, and isolation. "Our mission drives us into these wonderful and challenging areas as we work with our neighbors to change, shape, build, and, in many cases, 'reinvent,' community," says Larry James, CDM executive director. In fact, Mr James believes so strongly in the community that he moved his family to the area, so he could better understand the challenges facing those who live in Dallas' inner-city neighborhoods.

CDM had operated after-hours health clinics in central Dallas since 1991 and found it could not meet the ever-increasing demand for primary healthcare services at the clinics. For many, the struggle to pay rent and buy groceries outweighed the need to seek routine medical checkups or purchase health insurance. As a consequence, most patients in the area used the local hospital emergency departments as their primary care providers.

Under CDM's leadership, the community came together to address the pressing problem of the uninsured working poor. A collaboration formed of neighborhood churches and area health systems, including Baylor University Medical Center, Parkland Health & Hospital System, and the East Dallas Weed and Seed program to prevent drug use. In 1998, the work of the partnership led to the creation of Church Health Ministries. Because many residents trust their churches, CHM launched its outreach efforts to the churches. Soon CHM realized each church had its own gifts to offer to the effort. For example, Ross Avenue Baptist Church donates space for one of CHM's medical clinics and Emmanuel Lutheran Church offers English-as-a-Second-Language classes.

To emphasize the need for regular medical examinations and to raise awareness of available programs, CHM works with congregations to provide three levels of health assistance. Congregational nurses are registered nurses who act as health counselors, educators, and a referral source for church members. Lay health promoters act as extensions of the nurses and refer patients for further evaluation and sometimes accompany patients to medical appointments. Benefits counselors assist church members by explaining the process and reviewing eligibility for accessing health benefits programs.

CDM has made a great impact on the health of the community with the creation of the Church Health Ministries program. When CHM expanded the operating hours at its clinics, a group of physicians with the Baylor Health Care System/Health Texas Provider Network pitched in and CDM was able to increase its patient in-take to more than 7700 uninsured patient visits in 1999.

One physician who signed up to help was Gary Hill, MD. Dr Hill says that while in medical school, he became so focused on getting through school and graduating that he lost sight of the reason he went into medicine-the patient. Later in his practice, he grew dissatisfied with life in general and began to question his goals. Dr Hill says that's when he had a life-changing experience in his faith in God and he felt compelled to give more of himself to his patients and the community. Dr Hill began volunteering at Church Health Ministries and has enjoyed working in the inner-city medical clinics so much that he sees patients there daily.

If you would like to volunteer in CHM's medical clinics and make an impact in the lives of the inner-city community, contact Connie Webster, DCMS director of community service, at 214-948-3622 or connie@dallas-cms.org. For more information about this clinic, visit their web site at http://www.cdm-hope.org.