Donate
You can also donate by sending a check to WNC Health Advocates, PO Box 1213, Asheville, NC 28802
Volunteer

Patient Pals & Family Friends:
This was our first class of volunteers. Each was willing to spend an hour a week or more with someone who has illness or disability and needs a friend. Most of our "Pals" are low-income and alone. They feel isolated and depressed, and our volunteers are there to care about them. For many people, that's enough to make them feel a part of the world again. Our Pals also know they can call us any time, even after they have moved on, and we are there to help if they need it.
Our volunteers keep in touch by phone, visit and accompany people on outings. They help people list questions they want to ask their physicians, and some accompany their Pals to the doctor to take notes and help them remember the questions they were going to ask.
Our Patient Pals & Family Friends receive training in a free four-hour session. They are asked to commit to an hour a week for six months. For information, call 828-243-6712 or e-mail leslie@wnchealthadvocates.org.
This was our first class of volunteers. Each was willing to spend an hour a week or more with someone who has illness or disability and needs a friend. Most of our "Pals" are low-income and alone. They feel isolated and depressed, and our volunteers are there to care about them. For many people, that's enough to make them feel a part of the world again. Our Pals also know they can call us any time, even after they have moved on, and we are there to help if they need it.
Our volunteers keep in touch by phone, visit and accompany people on outings. They help people list questions they want to ask their physicians, and some accompany their Pals to the doctor to take notes and help them remember the questions they were going to ask.
Our Patient Pals & Family Friends receive training in a free four-hour session. They are asked to commit to an hour a week for six months. For information, call 828-243-6712 or e-mail leslie@wnchealthadvocates.org.
Start from Seed:
Cheryl Orengo, doula, board member and doula trainer, helps a client give her baby a bath.
Start from Seed offers training for new doulas, who then work with our volunteer mentors to help low-income, first-time mothers during late pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period as they learn to care for and bond with their newborns.
Mothers who use doulas have fewer complications, a lower cesarean rate and fewer post-partum emergency room visits with their babies.
For information on Start from Seed, e-mail chelsea@startfromseed.org, or visit our Start from Seed web site at www.startfromseed.org.
Cheryl Orengo, doula, board member and doula trainer, helps a client give her baby a bath.
Start from Seed offers training for new doulas, who then work with our volunteer mentors to help low-income, first-time mothers during late pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period as they learn to care for and bond with their newborns.
Mothers who use doulas have fewer complications, a lower cesarean rate and fewer post-partum emergency room visits with their babies.
For information on Start from Seed, e-mail chelsea@startfromseed.org, or visit our Start from Seed web site at www.startfromseed.org.

True Stories:
Kelly Cuvar has had cancer for 13 years and struggles to get the care she needs. She and Leslie met in Washington, DC, and have remained friends ever since. Read more of her story under "Stories from a broken system."
Tell us your health care story. Putting faces on the issues is the best way to let people know about the failings of our health care system.
At WNC Health Advocates, we also can use your story to illustrate improvements in the system as the Affordable Care Act takes effect.
We also can answer your questions about the health care system and what the changes mean to you. You can call us, and we'll answer any questions you have, or you can get a group together and we will give our slide presentation, which is designed to answer your questions.
Want to know more? Call 828-243-6712 or e-mail leslie@wnchealthadvocates.org.
Kelly Cuvar has had cancer for 13 years and struggles to get the care she needs. She and Leslie met in Washington, DC, and have remained friends ever since. Read more of her story under "Stories from a broken system."
Tell us your health care story. Putting faces on the issues is the best way to let people know about the failings of our health care system.
At WNC Health Advocates, we also can use your story to illustrate improvements in the system as the Affordable Care Act takes effect.
We also can answer your questions about the health care system and what the changes mean to you. You can call us, and we'll answer any questions you have, or you can get a group together and we will give our slide presentation, which is designed to answer your questions.
Want to know more? Call 828-243-6712 or e-mail leslie@wnchealthadvocates.org.