Whitely Community Council
Community Partner Spotlight
The relationship between Open Door and the Whitely Community Council (WCC) is rooted in creating access to health services, health education, and social supports directly in Muncie’s Whitely neighborhood.
Whether it’s creating opportunities for Open Door to provide flu shots and insurance information at the Whitely food pantry, to serve neighborhood residents from the Open Door Mobile Unit, or to share health information through WCC communication channels, the Council prioritizes connecting residents with valuable health services. The Council has even given Open Door staff members neighborhood tours, led by WCC Executive Director Ken Hudson, and invited Open Door’s teams to raise money for WCC’s Thanksgiving meal distributions.
During Covid, Open Door and WCC teamed up to host an online Q&A panel about Covid vaccination. The event was moderated by Hudson and featured Open Door providers answering questions submitted by East Central Indiana residents. The collaboration helped to spread accurate information about Covid vaccination and led to many vaccination events in the Whitely neighborhood. In recognition of the Council’s efforts, the Indiana Primary Health Care Association awarded their annual Volunteer of the Year award to Hudson in 2021.
The Open Door Connections initiative represents the most recent collaboration between Open Door and WCC. Launched in 2022, Connections places Open Door community health workers directly into partner sites in multiple neighborhoods. These team members help neighbors connect with social support resources, healthcare appointments, and health insurance. Sites such as Connection Corner in Whitely are a space where the outreach workers build trust with residents, which is the foundation for then being able to walk alongside them in areas where they can use support.
Exciting developments are on the horizon, with plans underway to create additional access for clinical services directly in the Whitely neighborhood.
"Our goal in working so closely with Open Door Health Services is to improve access to quality health care for Whitely neighborhood residents, thereby improving their quality of life,” said Hudson. “This is the right thing to do and is why we are working to prepare a place for Open Door to operate permanently in the neighborhood.”
Thank you, Whitely Community Council, for your unique role in Open Door’s history, and for your commitment to future partnerships that will improve quality of life for our friends and neighbors.
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Open Door Health Services operating in East Central Indiana! While caring for community members under different names during that time, the organization has seen a rich history of patient-focused care and intentional relationship-building with community partners.
To help celebrate this history of partnership, each month we'll be featuring the story of Open Door's partnership with an area organization. Thank you to our partners for helping us celebrate the impact we make TOGETHER on quality of life.