www.mobilecarefoundation.org
Last week, I walked into a Mobile C.A.R.E. asthma van and watched a young man - a composed, friendly and successful high school freshman - undergo an asthma check-up. His father had accompanied him to the van, which was parked in the school lot where his son had attended elementary school and his two younger daughters continue.
The father spoke to the Mobile C.A.R.E. nurse in Spanish - chatting about his son's successful transition to a magnet high school and updating her on his 3rd and 4th grade daughters' health. They would be seen on the asthma van another day. His son's asthma has long been well managed; fortunately, he'd been treated by the asthma van since he was 7 years old. He'd missed few days of school due to his asthma, and he'd achieved his academic potential.
You may believe, as I once did, that asthma today is primarily a nuisance - a chronic, but easily managed condition. That may be true for those of us with excellent health care coverage, access to health care that doesn't require hours of waiting, and money to spend on prescription medications.
A few enlightening facts:
Asthma is epidemic in urban areas in the U.S.
It is the #1 cause of school absenteeism.
In 2003, children with asthma missed 12.8 million days of school.
Right there - that last statistic alone - is a bright red flag for school failure and the host of poor outcomes that follow including low levels of employment, early parenting, depression, delinquency.
Parents of children with unmanaged asthma miss precious, mostly unpaid days of work. Families slide into economic insecurity and even poverty.
Mobile C.A.R.E. brings comprehensive asthma treatment to high-risk children in public and private schools and head start programs in Chicago's under-served neighborhoods.
Mobile C.A.R.E. gets kids' asthma under control - they go to school - their parents go to work. Families prosper.
Mobile C.A.R.E. IS CHANGING LIVES IN CHICAGO. They want to serve more children and families in surrounding areas. Your affordable donation will change a child's and family's prospects for a better future.
Give a Little today! www.mobilecarefoundation.org
