When Rose first visited our Health Center, she didn’t have health insurance and was navigating the asylum process in a new country. To make matters worse, her hearing aids started to fail. Communication was difficult and the silence around her felt isolating.
During her initial screening, the Health Benefits Specialist (HBS) learned about her situation and helped her apply for the Victims of
Trafficking, Torture and Other Crimes (VTTC) program, a state-funded medical aid in Illinois for non-citizen victims and their families who don’t qualify for federal benefits.
Once approved, Rose was finally able to see the specialist she was referred to after her initial medical visit. She fully expected the specialist to repair or even replace her hearing aids. Instead, the
specialist told her she was a candidate for a surgical procedure that could restore her hearing completely. It was a turning point in her exhaustive journey.
Today, Rose hears the world clearly, increasing her quality of life. She now appears more confident, is more independent, and can finally have conversations at a normal tone without difficulty.
Rose has mentioned repeatedly how thankful she is to be in this country, to be treated with respect, and to have received support from the medical team and HBS services throughout this life-changing process.
