National Health Corps Pittsburgh Blog

"Even without coming from any sort of health background, as nearly all of my fellow Corps members do, I am learning through my service that there’s a place for everyone in the public health puzzle. I am surprised and excited by the diverse backgrounds of the people who surround me at the Food bank each day. Individuals of all different fields— from agriculture to finance, food studies to data analysis, dietetics to public policy, and beyond— make up the large staff, and getting to know who they are and what role they play at the Food Bank has helped me better grasp the broad reach of the public health field."

"It is often difficult to recognize the multitude of barriers that prevent access to healthcare. It is commonly agreed upon that financial burdens and lack of insurance pose great obstacles. I personally have grown up neglecting to look outside of the lens of my own privilege, but have just started to delve into some of these notions of barriers."

"For my first service project at the Bloomfield-Garfield Family Health Center, I am helping to implement a clinic food pantry to address food insecurity among the clinic’s patient population. I have previously volunteered with organizations that help to increase access to healthy foods for vulnerable populations and those in need. Common barriers to access that I observed while volunteering with these organizations often included transportation, financial, and health-related mobility issues."

"While I am exploring the community that has been home to me, it is fascinating that my fellow corps members have traveled from all over the United States to Pittsburgh for the same goal - serving the Pittsburgh community. For the next ten months, we will certainly learn about ourselves, each other, and most importantly the needs of this community. Although the needs of Pittsburgh are likely to be uniquely complex from many others places, I am positive that the themes learned from the National Health Corps will be representative of many communities nationally and even internationally and will aid in our diverse future careers."