Skip to the main content.
Donate Need help?
Donate Need help?

3 min read

Providing Medical Care to the Homeless

Annie Crain thought her medical career was behind her when the former RN and her husband moved back to her native Spokane area last year after raising four boys on the West Side. Her passion for more than a decade had been sharing Jesus with children, both in local neighborhood outreach and in developing nations. Health care and homelessness weren't areas she was particularly passionate about  it was all about the kids.

“I never really thought I'd be at Union Gospel Mission,” Annie says. “Its the last place that I really thought Id be.”

Leave it to God to bring Ryan Brown, UGM’s youth outreach director, into her path. Annie started volunteering in Ryan's department as they shared a desire to grow the ministry at schools.

When practical considerations compelled Annie to apply for paid work, she found an opportunity she wasn't looking for: Her 15 years of intensive care experience caught the eye of UGM's HR department, and they asked her to pray about applying for the open clinic coordinator position. She said she would – not really thinking it would lead anywhere.

Annie clinic coordinator

Then God put a few signs in her path.

The big one was a newspaper cover about the death of a 3-month-old baby and the homicide trial of his moms boyfriend, who was homeless. The baby had had many neglected medical problems, and there were other children at the scene who undoubtedly suffered the same neglect. Homelessness, health care and the wellbeing of children were tragically connected in that case.

When I saw that article," Annie said, "God grabbed my heart and said, I’m really serious about you praying.'"

Soon, God made it clear she could serve Him at UGM in a different way than she expected, but one that would uplift children and families in Jesus name. The Scripture that clinched it for her was John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

And that abundant life goes both ways. I felt like God was telling me he was going to give me life as I was pouring life into others.

Flu Shots.jpg

Annie started working in the clinics in early 2016, and the learning curve was steep as her position was reshaped from what it had been  a nurse working out of Anna Ogden Hall  to coordinating three clinics across UGM's multiple shelters.

“I'm really overseeing all the clinics, and helping find the volunteers and coordinate the clinics so that we can bring abundant life through healthier people. Healthier people do better: you can learn more, you can work harder, you can think more clearly,” she says.

The job hasn’t been easy. 

Most of my jobs, Ive kind of worked out of my strengths, Annie says. And this job Im really kind of working out of my weakness.

That weakness turned out to be a grateful dependence on God to use her as a “connector,” bringing together the providers who want to serve and the people who need care.

Its kind of like what you can do when you have nothing, she says: you can still connect people to others who have what they need.

Working out of weakness also included having to ask a lot of questions: You have to be open and willing to receive and be the dummy,’” because health care is complex and constantly changing, and Annie hadn't worked in medicine for 15 years.

Even so, God has brought willing-to-serve experts into her path with impeccable timing, from highly experienced health care providers to regulations specialists and even smoking cessation and diabetes instructors.

Watching those needs being met has developed another part of Annie she says was a weakness before: thankfulness.

medical clinic volunteers

At UGM, We have a core value of thankfulness, which starts at the top, of always thanking God for everything. And I believe God honors that. And he provides in the midst of that thankfulness.

That provision comes in hundreds of small ways and a few big ones. Without government or insurance funding, the clinics arent exactly a big-budget operation. Donors and volunteers make up the lifeblood of what happens there, down to the small details.

Some days its like, Were kind of getting low on cough drops. And then I get a phone call from somebody whos getting rid of bags of cough drops.

Though there are a few other free clinics available in this area, some clients say UGM is unique. A mom who brought her daughter in for treatment once told Annie, “You guys value me and my daughter. And you don't ever treat me different than anyone else. And you pray for us.

One of the most exciting future prospects for Annie is the opening of a clinic at the new Crisis Shelter for Women and Children. She already has some specialists lined up, eager to get started equipping the clinic for women’s health but is in need of a pediatric specialist to help with the kids at the Shelter. Abundant life will flow even farther because she became a connector, a bridge.

“If you look at how Christ worked, he healed people physically, and then he brought the spiritual. So really, I see the clinic as a bridge to Christ. We get people that walk in here that say, ‘I don't want to stay here’ … and then they walk out and say, ‘You're the only person that would help me.’ And we get to show Christ, we get to be a bridge to him.”

If you're a medical provider looking for a place to serve, Annie would love to have you join her team. Click on the link below to get started.

Click here to sign up for a volunteer overview. >>

 

In His Likeness: A heart-to-heart message from Phil Altmeyer

3 min read

In His Likeness: A heart-to-heart message from Phil Altmeyer

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Ephesians 2:10 Friends, I don’t know if your garage or shop looks like mine,...

Read More
A Lasting Partnership: The Belden’s commitment to UGM

4 min read

A Lasting Partnership: The Belden’s commitment to UGM

Laughs and tears are shared as Jerry and Stephanie Belden recount years of following Jesus together. They are passionate about supporting Union...

Read More
A Journey of the Heart: The love and power of the Gospel

5 min read

A Journey of the Heart: The love and power of the Gospel

Those who enter our Life Recovery program walk the path toward life change, receiving trauma-informed counseling, parenting support, life skills...

Read More
A Unique Opportunity for UGM Clinic

A Unique Opportunity for UGM Clinic

Dr. Ward Merkeley has a soft spot for people in need. Working as an emergency room physician for more than two decades at Providence Holy Family...

Read More
Holistic Recovery Includes Quality Healthcare: A UGM partner feature

Holistic Recovery Includes Quality Healthcare: A UGM partner feature

Fionnuala Brown and her husband are both experienced medical professionals who’ve committed to serving the Inland Northwest community in a variety of...

Read More
Providing Peace in Crisis: A Medical Volunteer Feature

Providing Peace in Crisis: A Medical Volunteer Feature

UGM received a remarkable gift when Nurse Practitioner Lorna Schumann joined the Medical Clinics as a volunteer.

Read More