Let’s Be a Blessing: Help Release Our Neighbors’ Medical Debt

Help bring a bit of light into the lives of families in our region that are struggling under the burden of medical debt – an evil of our time. By contributing to this initiative, we can be a blessing to those in need around us in western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and beyond.

In scripture, God commanded the Hebrew people to forgive all debt and release those enslaved by debt every 50 years (Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 15). This was their year of Jubilee. In the Gospel, Jesus echoes the prophet Isaiah saying he came to bring good news for the poor, release for the captives, and liberty for the oppressed (St. Luke 4:18).

Today, we can come together to provide a needed debt jubilee for our neighbors. Let’s be a blessing. A 2019 study in the American Journal of Public Health identified medical debt as the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. The cost of medical debt is high. It not only destroys finances. It can destroy families.

During June to September 2022, we—St. David’s in Peters Township and St. Thomas’ in Canonsburg—Episcopal Churches in Washington County—are partnering with RIP Medical Debt to release our neighbors’ medical debt in western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and beyond. Our mission will help individuals and families whose:

1. Income is less than 4 times the federal poverty level
2. Debts are 5% or more of annual income

The good news is that buying medical debt is cheap.

By raising $5,000, we can relieve ~$500,000 of medical debt in our region.

Let’s Be a Blessing: Help Release Our Neighbors’ Medical Debt

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