Fearless Love Grant: Neighbors4Neighbors – St. John’s, Indio

In conjunction with their 2018 Fearless Love Grant, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Indio recently added the services of an R.N. to their monthly food distribution program, Neighbors4Neighbors. This was accomplished through a partnership with Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine. The R.N. is a volunteer with Volunteers in Medicine so her time is free of cost. The services she provides include blood pressure checks, blood sugar checks, diabetes support, referrals to free or low-cost medical career and referrals to diabetes education classes in both English and Spanish.

The grant was used to purchase partitions and tables to create a nurse’s station as well as medical supplies, educational materials and signs advertising the available services. The volunteer R.N. sees 15 to 25 patients at each food distribution.

St. John’s expresses that their grant enables them to further expand their outreach in the local neighborhood with not only food but the medical care of an R.N., expanding their concept church to include care for the whole person. They serve as a wonderful example of church boldly reimagined.

This story was adapted from a report by Holly Sharps of St. John’s, Indio.