The Family Van is in the news! Our newest paper in Communication Quarterly highlights the value of co-designed models of care. Read the study to learn more about  the patient experience on The Family Van.  The power of words  plays a vital role in building relationships with our clients. The major themes of the paper revolve around this idea as well as the generosity, inclusion, and motivation that surround the Van, all  to develop healthy habits. Visit the Van to see for yourself,  or click here to check it out in action! 

On May 3rd we will be extending our hours in East Boston to 9am-3pm every Wednesday.  To better serve this community and others we are looking for a part-time Spanish speaking Community Health Educator to join our team. If you know someone who'd like to help us provide health education, screenings, and outreach, please email us for details.

Solitare Newton, a current Family Van Intern and prior volunteer, first heard about the Van while pursuing her premedical coursework at Bridgewater State University. Solitare earned her B.S. from Howard University and is pursuing a Masters in Public Health (MPH) at UMass Worcester. She was drawn to the Van because of our unique service delivery model that seeks to address social determinants of behavior, barriers to care, and others factors that impact health and health outcomes. She is currently working on a project tied to her MPH degree which takes aggregate data sets from the Van and analyzes them to improve care. This work is particularly exciting because it is unique to her experience with traditional health care delivery systems: "Working with the Van to help provide health services while simultaneously having the opportunity to analyze those encounters in hopes of improving health service delivery and community outreach efforts has been a great learning experience."

Sr. Diane Vallerio first got involved with the Van when she began her role as Director of Outreach Ministries 15 years ago at the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at Boston College, a longtime partner of The Family Van. The church collects baby formula, diapers, and other essentials for our clients: "We try to keep up the connection and keep current on what the needs are of The Family Van clients." Sr. Diane and a number parishioners work together to spearhead this effort. The mission of service we both share has allowed our partnership to thrive for 25 years, and we look forward to many more!

This March we have been celebrating International Women's History Month. Women constitute the majority of our staff. In fact, our founders Cheryl Dorsey, Dr. Nancy Oriol, MD, and our Executive Director Jennifer Bennet are some of these remarkable women. Their diligent work, tireless efforts and unwavering dedication has kept the Van up and running for 25 years. From the Van to the office, they are the backbone of this organization. This month, as with all other months, we recognize all the invaluable contributions they have made to the Van, to the Boston community and to public health as a whole!