Across the US, volunteers and community leaders are stepping up to serve their neighbors who are increasingly being denied health care, or rightfully afraid to seek the care they need. Headlines report the most jarring cases: a young girl in Texas picked up by immigration agents while traveling for emergency surgery; immigrants afraid to make routine doctor visits. Every day, across the country, similar stories are playing out.

That’s why, in June, Hesperian expanded the Gratis Book Program to include the United States. The Gratis Program provides free books to those who can’t afford the cost, but are well positioned to use the information to improve their community’s health. Since we asked for your support in expanding the program in June, we have received enthusiastic responses from both donors and people in need.

The Oakland, CA office of the International Rescue Committee requested 30 copies of Where There Is No Doctor in Spanish and English to serve their medically vulnerable clients.

San Francisco-based Operation Access, which arranges surgical care for undocumented migrant workers, will use Hesperian books as a resource for their office staff and referring clinicians. They wrote that the books are especially needed after the devastation of the Northern California wildfires because “so many doctors were affected by the fire, losing their homes, and now patients are having a much harder time getting medical care as a result.”

Please make a gift to support the expansion of the Gratis Books Program to people in the United States. Your support will empower people to understand what they can do on their own and with the support of their communities to prevent disease, improve living conditions and nutrition, respond to emergencies, and make pregnancy safer and children healthier.