Hannah Ward

Throughout my time with Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, I have been able to meet and help all kinds of people. The experience has really opened my eyes to many of the struggles our community faces daily. In particular, it has brought my attention to the amount of people you would not think that do struggle. My most significant interaction was with a man that started to tell me his story, almost like he had to explain and/or defend himself which broke my heart. As a healthcare provider and just simply being a good human, we should want to help people where and when we can and never make them feel as if they have failed. Because of this, I will always do my best to encourage and support people no matter the encounter or interaction.

With Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, we were able to give back to the underserved community by participating in the mobile food pantry. This is a reoccurring event they offer for the community where people are able to come get a box of food occasionally with additional items to feed their family. This particular event targets the underserved community because it is for people without a home, food, hygiene products and many other resources we use in our day to day lives. It is of utter importance that we, as pharmacists, understand that not all people come from the same background. Recognizing when someone needs help because not everyone asks is a great asset to have as we can serve our patients the best we can all while providing them with the resources to keep them healthy.
My most significant patient interaction was with a woman that expressed how thankful she was for what we do all while thanking God in the process. This spoke volumes to me as she does not have many of the resources we do but she makes it known that she takes nothing for granted and is thankful for every little and big blessing in her life. This is something I will carry with me to remind me how truly blessed I am.