“I lost my job, so I lost my insurance. And all of a sudden, I got an abscess tooth.” Monique came to Water Street Health Services in tremendous pain. Her tooth was literally preventing her from eating. At the same time she was looking for a new job so she could pay her bills and get insurance again. 

When she learned of our Dental Clinic, she called in right away. Water Street Health Services offers free medical and dental care to individuals without insurance or who fall below 250% of the poverty line as well as to guests of our mission. 

“To have that pop up in that state of already worrying about not having a job, not having the finances to just pay for a dentist,” says Monique, “it was very, very awesome how they took care of me.” 

Monique was able to have her tooth safely extracted and have the underlying health concerns treated as well. “The dentist was really nice, the hygienists are really nice, and they really took care of me,” she says. “They gave me free medications, my antibiotics was free, they gave them to me that day.”

Medical and dental needs are often first to be neglected during financial struggles. And when they are addressed, often bills, debt, and credit issues follow. In fact, reportedly 1 in 10 adults with incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level reported having medical debt in 2021. 

For Monique, getting her tooth fixed eliminated her pain, and allowed her to focus on her job search whole-heartedly. 

Water Street Health Services cared for 583 people in the last 3 months alone. That’s only possible thanks to the many people in Lancaster who partner with us to bring important medical and dental care to our neighborhood! Your support is why we can continue to offer a presence of healing to people like Monique!