La Red Health Center hoping for Congressional funding to bolster Rural Re-Entry Program
GEORGETOWN, Del. – La Red Health Center in Georgetown is waiting to receive $1 million in Congressional funding. Meanwhile, officials said they desperately need the community’s help to continue supporting individuals working for a second chance at life.
Connections to Care
On a given day, Andrea Perez may be working to connect dozens of incarcerated and recently freed people with essential resources. All of that work is done through La Red’s Rural Re-Entry Program.
Before incarcerated individuals in the program are released, Perez works to connect them with medical, workforce, housing, translation, and transportation resources. While several community organizations lend a helping hand in providing those resources, Perez is responsible for organizing it all.
“That takes one big check off their plate when they get home, and they also have a point of contact. So, they know as they’re leaving (incarceration), ‘I can call Andrea and she is going to make sure that this is intact,” Perez said.
A Big Job With Huge Importance
It’s a big job with huge importance, and Perez knows that better than most.
“People are coming out of the incarceral settings, and they just don’t have the resources that they need. It’s just me in this program, and I’ve had 113 referrals and navigating the system … As you can imagine, that’s taxing at times,” Perez said.
That’s why U.S. Representative Sarah McBride (D – Del.) said she is fighting to secure the $1 million in Congressional Community Project Funding.
“This is about improving the health outcomes for folks who are reentering society and about individual dignity, but it’s also about reducing crime and reducing costs for our state and our community at large … (La Red) needs more investment to expand their work—to make sure that they’re hiring the teams necessary to meet the need that is out there,” Rep. McBride said.
Access and Education Need a Boost, Say Officials
In the meantime, those resources remain difficult to access for many incarcerated individuals.
Perez said as need grows, so does the urgency to continue funding the program sustainably. She added that educating individuals in the program about health care is an important part of the puzzle.
“We’ll show up at places like probation, and our nursing staff will do things like blood pressure or blood sugar checks, and then we’ll find out that these people are really, really in need of urgent care,” Perez said.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Perez said she would like to see the community keep marginalized individuals top of mind.
“I wish people would look at it more holistically, and realize this is our community and we need to support that in any way we can,” Perez said.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Rep. McBride said she remains “cautiously hopeful” that President Donald Trump will sign the appropriations bill, including the funding.
“The proposal here to expand La Red’s (program)—that’s a smart investment. It’s the kind of investment that Democrats and Republicans can and should be able to get behind … We need to expand (the program) so that we can holistically solve the problems that our state faces,” Rep. McBride said.
