8/8/2019 Tutwiler Justification

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Artist: Jennifer Smith

TUTWILER CLINIC, TUTWILER, MISSISSIPPI

 Background 

The Tutwiler Clinic was started in 1983 by Sister Anne Brooks and three other Sisters of theHoly Names. The clinic serves the people of Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, where the median

household income is approximately $18,000 (two thousand dollars below the US poverty level

for a family of four). Due to the mechanization of the cotton industry in the 1960s, many of the

town’s inhabitants were left unemployed. Tutwiler is only able to offer a few job opportunities

and has no public transportation for commuting to nearby towns. Many of those living in the

town are illiterate, and have had minimal education, if any.

The clinic is a non-profit entity, and will often pay for patient testing and medication if the

 patients cannot afford it themselves. Seven of the Sisters who work with the clinic live in the

town of Tutwiler, and will often make house visits if patients are too ill to travel to the clinic, or 

if they have no transportation.

 How Donations Are Used 

Donations of money and general supplies (toys, clothes, shoes, education materials, etc.) are used

towards helping fulfill the needs of the people in the community. The clinic also began a Bargain

Barn for the town, where many donated items can be acquired for second-hand use.

In 1990, the clinic was featured on the television show, 60 minutes. The national publicity

garnered monetary support and donations of items for the community. In addition, a grant was

 provided by the W K Kellogg Foundation to help build the Tutwiler Community Education

Center in 2003. The community center provides a gymnasium, meeting center, and learning

facility for the people of Tutwiler.

Why I Chose this Charity

Sister Cora Middleton, one of the four women who helped begin the clinic in 1983 with Dr.

Brooks, is my Aunt. She has been working at the Tutwiler Clinic as a nurse and Clinic

Coordinator ever since. I have visited “Tiny T”, as it is fondly referenced, multiple times and am

constantly humbled by the way of life and the severity of the needs of those living in the area.

Bodies are often buried in shallow graves on the side of a road, due to lack of money for coffins

or cemetery plots. Houses are barely standing from the wet Delta soil, and if they are standing,

many use only plastic tarp as a roof. Rotting wood covers openings for windows and allows

 privacy of the families dwelling inside. Diabetes, heart disease, teenage pregnancy, drug

addiction, and many other afflictions run rampant in the small community.

The nuns who run the clinic live so minimally, but offer so much to their community and

 patients. Having grown up in a secure and stable home, had the experience of a college

education, and a full time job, I feel that the least I can do is to offer a little of what I have to

someone less fortunate.

To Find Out More...

tutwilerclinic.org/