PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Books can be an escape. Reading connects us all as human beings, and it gets us through the day.
Books are also something you can count on, and that’s why the medical director at Circle the City is using them to help her patients feel less alone.
So, in a medical supply closet most folks will never see at the facility, there’s a new addition that’s helping patients one chapter at a time.
“They have lived lives. They’ve got stories,” said Dr. Rebecca Moran. “They need to be connected to the rest of us and to humanity and the community.”
Dr. Moran is the medical director at the nonprofit, which helps those experiencing homelessness across the Valley. Arizona’s Family recently met with her, and it’s clear she’s passionate about her job and reading.
As a lifelong reader, Dr. Moran was inspired by her own mother to set up a free little library in the waiting room of the Circle the City Downtown Family Health Center in Phoenix.
“I thought it was really a good idea and I started looking through the books and I picked up this one about ‘pitchology’,” said patient Myron Daniel.
Daniel has always been a reader and has even sold encyclopedias. The books have been so unexpectedly popular with patients like Daniel that Dr. Moran says they have given out hundreds in just the last month.
“Our patients have fallen on some tough times,” Dr. Moran said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that they like to read. They like to develop their minds. They like to feel connected. We all do.”
At first, Dr. Moran solicited donations from Circle the City employees and donors. Since it’s taken off, she’s been delighted to get donations from stores like Half Price Books in Phoenix.
Circle the City now needs help with book donations from the public. If you’d like to help, contact Leslie Freidman at (602) 612-9771.
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