In the Stories to Save Lives Project, narrators, particularly rural residents in North Carolina, tell their stories of experiencing a lack of healthcare access, both financially and geographically. In the midst of inadequate care from the medical system, rural citizens are finding their own solutions to maintain their health. Specifically, people are turning to their community and religion–oftentimes Christianity–to provide non-traditional ways of maintaining their physical and mental health.
Christian Churches as “Spiritual Hospitals”
Researcher Edward Moe discusses how the current healthcare system is focused on reactive care instead of preventative care. They urge people to consider preventative care on a communal level in which the local community and family are integral factors in maintaining one’s health (Moe, p. 1). Moe argues that family and community help people stay in good health and notice when people are not well (p. 1). The importance of community is a shared idea across rural areas, and when residents come together, they cherish their time. One of the places where the community is built is within religious dwellings, particularly Christian churches. Churches are often places where people do more than just practice their faith. It is a place for fellowship, family reunions, events, etc. Christian churches serve as a chance for community members to gather and interact with each other. Willie Ramey, a reverend at his church in Henderson, NC, discusses how few healthcare resources exist in his area and how his congregation has a strong connection that he believes impacts the health of everyone. He states, “If someone is in dire need and they need to be in the hospital in fifteen minutes, it won’t work.” (Ramey 1:14:51-1:15:03) The residents in the area cannot rely on the healthcare system to take care of them, so Ramey and his congregation give each other advice for when they visit the doctors or the hospital so they can minimize trips there. Ramey’s advice is,
“‘Before you go to the doctor, write down every question that you want to ask before you go to the doctor…Tell them what’s wrong, what you think is wrong. Tell them what do you need to do in order to get well. Ask them what do you need to do, and then what do you need to do to stay well.’” (1:53:55-1:54:58)
Ramey refers to his church as a “spiritual hospital” (1:55:10) where “God takes care of his people” (1:55:22- 1:55:26), and the organization of his church allows for residents to participate in preventative care instead of reactive care. Through monitoring everyone’s health, Ramey’s congregation is mitigating trips to the doctor, and his narrative displays how religious dwellings act as “spiritual hospitals” that provide a chance for communities to support each other and their health.
Community-Supported Organizations
Community support is also noticeable in the maintenance of non-private healthcare assistance. Narrator Nellene Richardson started a community recovery house for mothers who suffer from substance abuse in Rocky Mount, NC. She housed the mother’s children as well for as long as they needed, and her program has had a ninety-percent recovery rate (Richardson 0:18:59-0:19:02). Richardson expresses how her community supported her recovery house with furniture, manual labor, donations, food, events, etc. In her interview, Richardson says,
“And I’ve gotten bedroom sets and living room sets for two, three, four, five, ten dollars. And then at the end, Barnhill would say, “Okay, nobody got that stuff. Nellene, where your U-haul? We gonna fill it up.” And so they knew I would have yard sales, they knew everything that the house needed was going in the house…So it was like this community took care of us. They really did.” (0:25:41-0:26:17)
The aid the mothers received came from more than just Richardson herself, it came from her community as a whole, and this sentiment is another way rural residents participate in alternative care.
Religion Used as Mental Health Assistance
In addition to community support, narrators explore how religion itself is an integral part of preserving their mental health. Nell Burwell, a teacher and another Rocky Mount native, divulges the time in her life when her brother and best friend died within a week of each other and explains how difficult it was for her (0:31:30-0:31:47). And still, she explains that what’s most important in her life is maintaining her faith. She says,
“I enjoy [my religion] and I’m glad that I am saved and have something because if you don’t have anything, any faith in anything, your life is just going to be miserable. You just don’t have anything. You just don’t feel good about yourself.” (Burwell 1:26:41-1:26:58)
Miss Burwell uses religion to have ease of mind and comfort for her troubles. Her religious ideology has been studied by researchers that want to see how religious beliefs can impact one’s self-sufficiency amid crises. Researchers Magdalena Tuczyńska et al. performed a study on religious and non-religious people in Poland to determine their perception of healthcare services during the pandemic. They found that religious/spiritual people rated healthcare services better than those who are not, which prompted thoughts on religious support as a way to “mitigate the effects of the pandemic,” (pp. 1-2). Through oral histories and research studies, religion can be used as a coping mechanism to alleviate problems, like a pandemic, and a tool to maintain one’s mental health in rural areas like with Miss Burwell.
Importance of Religion and Community Support
People who live in rural areas are no strangers to lacking access to resources. In terms of healthcare, rural communities have gotten creative about how they maintain their well-being, such as looking out for each other in their community and practicing their religion. While better healthcare resources are needed in rural areas, it would be remiss to downplay the effectiveness of rural alternative care, as residents are able to thrive because this form of care exists.
References
Burwell, Nell. Interview with Frey Lauren. 19 June 2019 (Y-0089). Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007), Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Moe, Edward. “Community Assessment: Health Care Alternatives and Patterns in Metropolitan, Suburban and Rural Areas.” Family & Community Health, vol. 1, no. 2, May 1978, pp. 1-2, Ovid, https://oce.ovid.com/article/00003727-197807000-00002/HTML.
Ramey, Willie. Interview with Darius Scott. 07 July 2018 (Y-0043). Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007), Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Richardson, Nellene. Interview with Frey Lauren. 06 May 2019 (Y-0122). Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007), Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tuczyńska, Magdalena, et al. “Correlation Between Religion, Spirituality and Perception of Healthcare Services Utilisation in Poland During COVID-19 Pandemic.” PeerJ, 29 Nov. 2022, pp.1-18, http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14376.