The Mobile Dental Clinic Opens More Doors
The last year of high school should be filled with fun, proms, planning for the future and finally, graduation! Not so for Rogelio, a high school senior who participated in our recent Mobile Dental Clinic. Rogelio came for dental care but left the clinic with the Young & Healthy team behind him.
Rogelio lives with his 22-year-old brother who is trying to support them both. The boys know that an eviction notice is only days away. When our staff discovered that these boys are on the edge of homelessness and hunger, Rogelio was sent home with every left-over sandwich, cookie and apple from the clinic lunch on Saturday.
At one point, Rogelio asked quietly if a dentist might be able to look at his brother’s teeth, as well. In better days, his brother had braces…braces which were never removed, until he tried to remove them himself with a pair of pliers. After hearing of this, the USC dentists did see his brother to remove the cement that remained from his “home dentistry” project.
While Rogelio and his brother came to the Mobile Dental Clinic for dental care, they left with connections for a myriad of other services. These young men are struggling in ways that break our hearts, and yet they displayed such gratitude and kindness to all. I wonder if I would have the same grace and fortitude to continue on if that were me?
