Alleviating medical debt: Two councils join forces to multiply good

Brendan Murphy on April 25, 2022

By Linda Hinds

The Mission Outreach Council and the Justice & Peace Council are excited to share news of their joint project to help alleviate medical debt. After researching medical debt and the crushing impact it has on so many throughout our country, especially here in Houston, the two councils decided to investigate ways in which they could play a part in tackling this overwhelming problem. That investigation revealed that an astounding number of Americans face staggering medical debt as a result of serious injury, illness or chronic disease. As our neighbors seek essential medical care for themselves or family members, they frequently incur bills that are beyond their ability to pay. For many, this is the first time in their lives that they have not been able to pay their debts, creating a cascading burden that impacts their ability to buy a car, find housing, and even meet their basic needs.

The medical debt initiative cleaves to the vision action plan “Rooted in Christ/Built on Christ’s” focus of “Serving the World in God’s Name,” by engaging new outreach and justice work to embody the Gospel in the world.

As one way of addressing this problem, the Mission Outreach Council and the Justice & Peace Council will be working with RIP Medical Debt, a national non-profit that buys and forgives the unpayable debt of our neighbors in need. Our goal is to raise $5,000, which RIP will use to purchase and extinguish approximately $500,000 of medical debt! We will collect funds at an in-gathering in July. If you would like to learn more about this exciting undertaking, please reach out to either Susan Reedy (Mission Outreach Council) at [email protected] or Linda Hinds (Justice & Peace Council) at [email protected] and watch for further announcements about our fundraising event.