La Clinica’s Phoenix Health Center was directly in the path of the devastating Almeda fire that swept through Phoenix and Talent the afternoon of Sept. 8, turning most of what it touched to rubble.
But the center survived, and today it is serving as one arm of the organization’s growing commitment to the hard-hit communities.
La Clinica in October began welcoming patients back to Phoenix Health Center, and by the end of 2021 it will launch four new school-based centers in the Phoenix-Talent district. The new centers at Armadillo Technical Institute, Orchard Hill Elementary, Talent Elementary, and Talent Middle School will join a school-based center already running at Phoenix Elementary School.
La Clinica estimates about 1,300 of its patients were displaced by the fire.
“I want this community to know that La Clinica is there for it and that we are committed to supporting our neighbors as they take their next steps and the steps after that,” said CEO Brenda Johnson. “We’re here for the long haul, and we’re uniquely set up to hear people’s needs and connect them with help, either at La Clinica or elsewhere. It’s some of our most important work right now.”