Verse of the Month

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

We have been busy working behind the scenes for the past few months preparing to launch a brand new project. The Haiti Health Network and Haiti Biomedical Solutions, along with FHI 360 and AyiMed International have now officially kicked off the first phase of this nationwide oxygen plant assessment and O2 generation education project. 

The goal of the first phase of this project is to assess existing oxygen generation equipment to determine what each plant needs to be able to operate at optimal capacity. In July our team wrote and designed an assessment tool which will be used by the different teams to complete assessments at 18 oxygen plants located all over Haiti.

On August 1st our executive director, Barbara Campbell, International Biomedical Coordinator, David Kuhajda, Haitian Biomed lead, Evenel Osias, and In-Country co-ordinator, Covsky Aimable, joined the FHI 360 and AyiMed teams in northern Haiti for a week of hands on training. 

The group not only learned how to use the assessment tool, they also completed the first two oxygen plant assessments together and were able to visit two additional oxygen plants in Northern Haiti.

Over the next two months our team will complete 7 more oxygen plant assessments all over Haiti and begin developing a biomed community of practice with those they encounter at each oxygen plant. This community of practice will be central to the educational piece of this project. Oxygen therapy is vital to those in critical health situations are we are thankful to play a role in making oxygen therapy more readily available to those who need it most in Haiti. 

Addiction Recovery| Re-entry

Every Single "One" Matters

We’re likely all familiar with the story of the Starfish thrower. The beach is full of washed-up starfish that will soon die if not returned to the sea. Some people look at the huge number of starfish needing to be saved and the short time to do it and say- It’s not possible. Others start helping one by one to make a difference. It’s the same with the opioid epidemic. The problem is enormous and seemingly insurmountable, yet if we all do a little, we can make the difference for the one.

Every month thousands of Ohioans utilize relink.org to connect to much needed community resources. In fact, in July alone 7,493 people utilized relink.org and 23,368 community resource linkages were made. While we like to see and track these numbers and trends, we also care deeply about the “one” who needs help.

Our Community Engagement Director, Rachel Sobitz has the heart and passion to reach the “one” and guide people toward health and healing. We get quite a few personal calls every month from people in need asking about relink.org, many of them are looking for housing. Since the pandemic the amount of available emergency shelter and affordable housing has drastically decreased yet searches on relink.org have skyrocketed are up 465% in July compared to January 2022 . We are the connector between individuals and places that have available housing.

Recently Rachel was at a department store and ran into a friend. She started talking with her about the work that she does at relink.org and another person shopping overheard the conversation. She heard the mention of affordable housing, which her brother was in desperate need of, and asked for a relink.org card. Rachel gave her one and the next day a call came in from the brother. We were able to help him find some places to call for affordable housing in our database and he was so thankful for the help. You never know when God is going to appoint a moment for a conversation to take place that could ultimately change the life of another in a powerful way. Rachel experiences this type of encounter every day as she is out in the community sharing relink.org and connecting people to support.

Addiction Recovery| Re-entry

Human Trafficking

In the past we all thought of human trafficking as something that happens far away. We now know that is far from the truth and that thousands of individuals are trafficked and forced into forced sexual or labor situations right in our backyard. In fact, in the past 90 days there have been 9,828 searches on relink.org in the Human Trafficking category. In Ohio, 50% of all trafficking is families trafficking children for money or in exchange for things such as drugs or rent. We know that community awareness and education can help these individuals escape and find freedom and healing.

Some of the most influential people that can help identify victims of human trafficking are teachers and healthcare professionals. We are fortunate in that there are many resources available to educate and train community members and to support survivors.

Here are just a few we’ve gotten to know that are doing amazing work here in Ohio: 

How does a healthcare facility survive and thrive in a low resource environment when revenue from services offered is less than 15% of your operating budget? Developing relationships, leveraging strengths, and collaboration are a must. This month we’d like to highlight the work of Soaring Unlimited in Northern Haiti and how being part of The Haiti Health Network has helped them grow and launch a maternal birthing center. The Dalton Foundation co-founded and has funded The Haiti Health Network since 2018 and have been intentionally connecting healthcare organizations all over Haiti. Active HHN members have been able to take advantage of the education, resources, and relationships provided to grow their organizations. Pastor Laura Elliott, Executive Director with Soaring Unlimited sat down with our team to offer gratitude and share how the network has personally impacted them and now the women of Northern Haiti.