Letters: Don't cut funding for free dental clinic in South Bend
Serving as a community beacon, the Sister Maura Brannick Health Center has provided free dental care to South Bend’s working poor for over 10 years. Devastatingly, this is set to change this May — St. Joseph Regional Medical Center will stop funding the dental clinic.
Patrons of the clinic must earn less than 200% of the federal poverty line and cannot be eligible for Medicaid/Medicare. Well-utilized, the dental clinic has produced a community benefit write-off as high as $4 million annually and has small operating costs since almost all staff are volunteers. Without the clinic, hundreds of patients will have to look elsewhere for dental care.
While often incorrectly considered a luxury, oral care is vital for pain management, social well-being, everyday activities such as eating and early screening for common cancers. Untreated oral infections also make controlling chronic health conditions trickier.
I hope St. Joseph Regional Medical Center can continue its commitment to serving vulnerable populations and respecting the human dignity of South Bend’s working poor. I encourage the South Bend community to call for St. Joseph Regional Medical Center to reconsider its decision and to continue funding the Sister Maura Brannick Health Center dental clinic.
Analena VanderZwaag
South Bend
Bullying
As you all are surely aware, House Bill 1483 has been in the news lately regarding preventing bullying in schools. The bill would mandate school corporations to properly investigate and report incidents of bullying and place the safety of the victim at top priority. This bill would require that the caregivers of the victim are notified within three days of the incident and the caregiver of the alleged offender within five days. In more serious events, HB 1483 would also make it possible for the victim's caregiver to view videos and evidence.
Bullying in schools is on the rise and becoming a serious issue for students. Bullying does not only affect the student at school but can have long lasting effects on the person as a whole. Reporting the incidents and treating each situation as serious will help victims see that they are not alone and do not need to be afraid. Many cases go unreported due to fear of retaliation and like we have seen in past news articles young people are taking it in their own hands and harming themselves.
This should not be happening, and this is why I am encouraging everyone to contact your local legislators and encourage them to vote yes for HB 1483. A child should not have to feel unsafe in a place where they are required to attend. Protection and change starts with us advocating for students and making sure bullying does not keep happening.
Kayla Martin
South Bend
We are not safe
As of April 12, the United States was approaching 150 mass shootings for the calendar year 2023. Even beyond the 150 mass shootings, senseless gun violence continues to be an everyday reality of American life. Over many years, we have learned that we are not safe in churches, mosques, synagogues or temples; at movie theaters or other entertainment venues; in grocery stores; on public transit; certainly not in schools; and not even in city halls.
Nevertheless, the body counts continue to mount and our streets continue to flow with innocent blood while politicians possessing no will or backbone — particularly those on the right who are always shouting about “freedom” — refuse to do anything about this epidemic. How many families and families of friends have been irrevocably altered by senseless gun violence? How many more will have to endure it?
In 2003, it was falsely rumored that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, so the United States military went in and toppled Iraq’s government. In 2023, it is a fact that there are weapons of mass destruction everywhere in the United States, and elected federal officials refuse to do anything about it!
Michael Snyder
Bremen
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Funds cut at Sister Maura Brannick Health Center in South Bend
