Enlarge Jen Algire, executive director of Community Health Services.

Posted: November 29th, 2009 Ayofemi Kirby

Throughout November, the Crossroads Charlotte Correspondents will spotlight individuals who deserve thanks for what they do to improve the city's social capital.

While health care legislation slowly makes its way through Congress, the staff at Community Health Services (CHS) doesn’t wait to provide free health care services to those who need them the most.

Lead by Executive Director Jen Algire, the team of 25 at CHS provides preventative health care services to the under-insured and the uninsured. With 2,000 volunteers, and millions in local donations, the organization has grown from serving primarily seniors to supporting and teaching all community members on how to advocate for themselves in a doctor's office and beyond.

“Its great to help people get health care,” Algire said. “But we really want people to see what we have to change in the system to see real change.”

One example: "Ask Me Three," a series of questions patients can ask doctors to better understand preventative care and diagnosis.

Why she does what she does?

“People are hurting, but nobody’s talking about people,” Algire said. “We talk about insurers, consumers and providers, but what about people? Me? You? Your next-door neighbor? It’s people who need help, it's people who are hurting."

What's next?

Check out the video for Algire's hopes for Charlotte.

Know someone who is a connector for a community?

Nominate that person to be profiled by a Crossroads Charlotte Correspondent. Email his or her name, phone number and email address and a brief description of what they do to Crossroads Charlotte. If your nominee is selected, you will be contacted by a correspondent.

Posted: November 25th, 2009 Meaghan Clark

On Wednesdays, Crossroads Charlotte Correspondent Meaghan Clark will give you a round-up of community-building news and events (click items for full stories):

1. Guys use facial hair to fight domestic violence in Charlotte.




2. The Charlotte community answers a call to help from the Bethlehem Center, to bring Thanksgiving to those in need.




3. Elvis is alive!! A Graceland Tribute Christmas Party.




4. Local shelters pool resources and staff to keep more women and children off the streets.




5. Breaking bread together takes on a whole new meaning for a group of students who learn about different cultures via sharing food and experiences.




Got a suggestion or a resource for us to check out? Please leave it in the comments or send an email.

Posted: November 24th, 2009 Tonya Jameson

Gabriel Rodriguez, 12, was shy about being videotaped while getting a flu shot. Afterward he was brave and smiling.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he said, standing inside the Presbyterian Community Care Cruiser stationed at the Solomon House, in Huntersville on Nov. 24.

Gabriel and other youth received flu shots, vaccinations and other health services at the mobile health clinic. The clinic’s staff provides health care to uninsured and under-insured youth in the Charlotte community.

The cruiser is a big fancy truck, reminiscent of a moving van, but it's tricked out with two exam areas, a sink, computer and even a waiting area with a DVD player and headphones.

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Posted: November 21st, 2009 Greg Lacour

Click here for more photos by Greg Lacour

Video by Tonya Jameson

Every year, more and more immigrants – Latino, East Asian, Indian, Caribbean – pour into Charlotte. Most of them are just looking a chance to do earn a better living than they did in the old country.

Is Charlotte welcoming them? How well? Are immigrants doing enough to establish themselves in a new community? Should they? What can we all do to adjust to the change without sacrificing what makes Charlotte Charlotte?

They’re questions that touched off a lively round of conversation Nov. 19 at International House in Elizabeth. More than two dozen people from just about everywhere – Mexico, Somalia, Jamaica, Thailand, Pittsburgh – gathered to take part in the latest Crossroads Charlotte conversation: “Finding Community In a New Home: Exchanging Perspectives With Immigrants in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.”

Starting with readings of the four scenarios, participants were asked to identify which best reflected the community they knew. Responses, as you might expect, varied. But the general consensus seemed to be that Charlotte seems to reflect "The Beat Goes On" – growth and opportunity remain with the sense that the city has missed a chance to become something even better.

Still, slowly, the city is beginning to transform into a city that’s more than the swollen small town dominated by banking and churches that it was until recent years.

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