Homeless and Uninsured to College Bound 

Ana Lopez, a HealthPoint Client Services Representative, met 15-year-old Christina through a church member who referred Christina to Ana after hearing about HealthPoint's programs and services. Christina had a severe allergy to bees and was worried about the swarm of bees around her school. Ana and HealthPoint SeaTac staff helped Christina obtain medical insurance and provided her with epi-pens and immunizations for school.

Unfortunately, Christina's bee allergy was the least of her troubles. With her mother in rehab and father in jail, Christina was living with her disabled grandmother who had a heart condition. Shortly after her first visit to HealthPoint, Christina returned with a toothache and asked if she could sign her paperwork as her own legal guardian. Christina told Ana that she was now homeless after her grandmother's illness required her to live in a nursing home. Sympathetic to Christina's situation, Ana thought, "I just wanted to take this young girl home and protect her and help her." As an independent teenager who was convinced that she could solve her own problems and didn't want people to feel sorry for her, Christina reached out to Ana, "If I would have someone help me, then that would be you. Ever since I came to this clinic, I felt that I was in a safe environment with trustworthy people." Ana was determined to assist Christina and be a resource for her through this difficult time. It took a whole HealthPoint team to sort out Christina's situation. Ana and the Healthpoint SeaTac staff worked hard to advocate for Christina and document her complicated case with DSHS.

Three years later, 18-year-old Christina sought out Ana to tell her that she was working a part-time job, taking college classes and hoping to attend Rogue Community College in Oregon. Ana was overjoyed for Christina and was impressed by her maturity and responsibility. Ana was happy to write Christina a letter of recommendation for college, attesting to Christina's ability to be a responsible young adult who was capable of overcoming hardships and taking care of her own wellbeing.

Despite her unusual challenges, Ana and the HealthPoint SeaTac staff did all they could to ensure Christina would have access to quality  health care and a place where she knew she would be welcomed. This is a great example of how HealthPoint comes together to meet the unique needs of our patients. We are happy that we were able to provide Christina with medical, dental and social services in a health care home filled with warm and dedicated staff when she most needed it. Now in college, Christina still keeps in touch. Grateful for the compassion of the staff at HealthPoint, Christina wrote to Ana, "I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me."