CHIP of Virginia

Faith, a mother in southwest Virginia, was referred to CHIP. Without prenatal care, she had just delivered a premature baby at a hospital one hour from her rural trailer. The hospital notified Child Protective Services because she had not visited her baby since being discharged. Besides her existing two year old child, Faith had no friends or family, telephone, transportation, job, or high school diploma. Her neighborhood was substandard and unsafe; she was scared and stayed inside her dark, bare home.

After initial assessment, CHIP staff began to work with Faith. Significant changes occurred during the first few months. The CHIP Community Health Worker helped her get to the hospital twice per week. Faith received a temporary emergency phone and crib. In less than a month, county early intervention services were helping both children with developmental delays identified by CHIP. After enrolling in a job training program, Faith found a job and earned her GED. She moved to an apartment on the bus line where she felt much safer. Although Faith still faces challenges as a single mother with two young children, she now knows how to access resources and address issues before they turn into crises. She knows the importance of taking her children to the doctor instead of waiting until they need to go to the emergency room. She reads to her children daily and knows that when her oldest child starts kindergarten, he’ll be ready to learn and ready for life. CHIP changes lives, two generations at a time.

Our CVC # is 3263.

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