Support a Bridges Clinic Family Navigator
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We are pediatricians who work at San Francisco General Hospital Children's Health Center Bridges Clinic. While Bridges offers primary health care to immigrant families, its essential services are provided by our team of Family Navigators, who ensure that each newcomer patient is successfully connected with legal aid, mental health support, and resources for food, housing, and employment. Areli Aguilar is among our vanguard Family Navigators, who has assisted ~50 newcomer families adjust to the challenging complexities of a new city, country, and culture - and in the midst of a global pandemic.
As a small token for their work, our Family Navigators receive monthly stipends through grants & funding we have pieced together. However, due to stipulations of UCSF & SFGH grants foundations that we were unaware of, we have NOT been allowed to pay Areli because -- although a taxpayer -- she is missing a social security number.
Areli is a 1st generation college student about to graduate from SF State University in 2021 as a pre-medical student with a degree in biology, concentration in physiology. Areli is one of a select group accepted to the Aspiring Physicians UCSF SFSU program that is dedicated to help underrepresented minority students enter medical school. Areli is not only a full-time student, lead Health Advocate , and Bridges Family Navigator, but also helps her family's small flower business, which has been negatively impacted by COVID. Since Areli herself has experienced the challenges in immigrating to a new country, she has formed especially deep, meaningful, and trusting connections with families.
Yet we still haven't found a way to honor Areli's invaluable contributions for over a year and a half, despite strategizing and consulting with immigration attorneys. So, in an effort to call out grantmakers for praising "community-based solutions", yet failing that exact community-based solution, we are now turning to our own communities to raise $6,000 -- all of which will go to our colleague Areli. Thank you for considering a donation of any amount toward Areli's bright future.
To learn more about the work of a Family Navigator, here is a link to a SFGH Dept of Pediatrics Grand Rounds presentation by Areli and Maite Garcia : Bridges GR 090120
With gratitude,
Bridges Clinic at Children's Health Center, SFGH
Raul Gutierrez, MD
Eleanor Chung, MD
Maite Garcia
Antonio Hernandez
As a small token for their work, our Family Navigators receive monthly stipends through grants & funding we have pieced together. However, due to stipulations of UCSF & SFGH grants foundations that we were unaware of, we have NOT been allowed to pay Areli because -- although a taxpayer -- she is missing a social security number.
Areli is a 1st generation college student about to graduate from SF State University in 2021 as a pre-medical student with a degree in biology, concentration in physiology. Areli is one of a select group accepted to the Aspiring Physicians UCSF SFSU program that is dedicated to help underrepresented minority students enter medical school. Areli is not only a full-time student, lead Health Advocate , and Bridges Family Navigator, but also helps her family's small flower business, which has been negatively impacted by COVID. Since Areli herself has experienced the challenges in immigrating to a new country, she has formed especially deep, meaningful, and trusting connections with families.
Yet we still haven't found a way to honor Areli's invaluable contributions for over a year and a half, despite strategizing and consulting with immigration attorneys. So, in an effort to call out grantmakers for praising "community-based solutions", yet failing that exact community-based solution, we are now turning to our own communities to raise $6,000 -- all of which will go to our colleague Areli. Thank you for considering a donation of any amount toward Areli's bright future.
To learn more about the work of a Family Navigator, here is a link to a SFGH Dept of Pediatrics Grand Rounds presentation by Areli and Maite Garcia : Bridges GR 090120
With gratitude,
Bridges Clinic at Children's Health Center, SFGH
Raul Gutierrez, MD
Eleanor Chung, MD
Maite Garcia
Antonio Hernandez
Co-organizers (2)
Eleanor Chung
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
Areli Aguilar
Beneficiary
Antonio Hernandez
Co-organizer