GEORGETOWN, Del. - La Red Health Center in Georgetown offers medical care to the community regardless of insurance or circumstance. To continue that care, they're requesting $1 million for their Rural Re-entry Program to continue providing that care.
"They are people and we can't just throw them away and forget they exist. It's just not how this works," said Andrea Perez.
Andrea Perez, Senior Manager of the Rural Re-entry Program, says she has an army of La Red behind her helping to care for the community and those returning to the community from incarceration.
However, before people can get to the La Red health care team, they have to meet with Perez.
The first and only point of contact.
"It's just me right now. The funding would allow us to expand and to be able to help even more people because I can only do so much by myself," Perez shared.
Alonna Berry, Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Justice, says these programs are needed for a reason.
"Oftentimes society is different than when they entered into the system originally." Berry explained.
Berry says she's seen for herself how impactful these programs can be.
"We also employ folks who have gone through our program and they become peer specialists. So we also get to help people for the long term, as they're helping others in similar circumstances as them," said Berry.
Perez says re-entry is a community effort and pouring into those joining our communities again is how we all thrive.
"It's not 'those people.' It's not 'not my problem.' This is our community, this is our village and we have to support people. In doing so, we're reducing recidivism, we're reducing crime, we're reducing overdose deaths. We're reducing a lot of things in the community, and that affects all of us," Perez explained.
If all goes to plan, the President could sign off and approve the request by this fall.