Volunteer/Missions

Monthly Ministry Highlight

HOPE MISSION CLINICAL, 213 S. Towers Street, Anderson, SC  29624 Phone : 864-359-2396 Contact person: Dave  Phillips or Zoe Hale

Hope Missions of the Upstate provides a safe place for people to come and enjoy breakfast, coffee, juice, and fellowship Monday through Saturday except the last Saturday of the month. Hope Missions serves guests of all ages, especially those who are older than the Department of Social Services' definition of able-bodied adults who are also experiencing homelessness. Those over 50 years old represent a large demographic in our community. During the colder months, Hope Missions opens its doors as a warming center when the temperatures outside reach 38 degrees or colder. As unhoused individuals, complex and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes cannot be managed efficiently (How would they refrigerate insulin or other meds that need specific storage requirements?). Hope Missions seeks to help lessen the burden that these medical conditions might present as well as connect clients to the following services to lift them out of homelessness: EBT Cards, Local bus tickets, Duplicate Social Security Cards, SC ID cards, SNAP applications (food stamps), SC Birth Certificates (DPH), Clothing items, securing a mailing address, and access to the free clinic. It is also conveniently located two blocks from the Clean Start program which can assist with laundry and bathing needs.

This is our first semester to partner with Hope Mission as a clinical although we have worked together on other projects such as our Poverty simulation and our walk audit. While we may asked to do several things while there such as serving breakfast, stocking supplies, and visiting with the clients, our primary goal is to provide a foot washing clinic, inspect the feet for wounds that will require referrals, provide clean socks, and maybe an occasional pair of shoes. Individuals with chronic and complex medical conditions need this vital service to ensure their health and safety as they live unhoused. Our feet support us and carry us everywhere. Ensuring our feet are warm, clean, dry, and healthy is important to everyone and easily neglected. This is an opportunity to improve your skin assessment skills, observing for infectious diseases as well as observing proper PPE and safe practice and prevention of nosocomial infections for your own protection while providing care to others. This is a skin assessment that is frequently missed or neglected on patient admissions at the bedside in many hospital settings, including mental health settings and community health settings. Anyone interested in wound care nursing, this is an opportunity for you!

Jesus gives us a  beautiful example of humbleness and love, even for the one who would betray him in John 13:1-5. He withheld nothing as he washed the feet of each of his disciples that night. Then he asked if they fully grasped what he had done for them (verses 12-17). The Master served the Servant and you should serve one another (even the least of these). The servant is not greater than the master, and the messenger is not greater than the one who sent the message. We often consider ourselves as servants of Christ and messengers of his kingdom. In this clinical, we are living out that message that the table is open for all, all are welcome, and worthy of His love and care. I pray you will be blessed in this clinical in a very unique way as we consider what it means to follow Jesus and the MANY ways we may be called to serve his people and deliver his message of love. Mr. Posey and I are both planning to participate in this clinical with you although neither of us will be available every clinical day as we each have other clinicals we manage throughout the semester.