OCTOBER 31, 1999
At 18, Rebecca Onie, a pre-law student at Harvard University, set out on a mission to improve medical care for inner-city kids.
Now, at 22, she has been so successful that she has been named one of America’s Top 10 Young Community Leaders by DO Something, a national youth leadership organization based in Washington, D.C., and has received a $10,000 award from the organization to put toward her effort.
She’s the guiding light behind Project HEALTH, a nonprofit she founded in 1995 with the help of Boston Medical Center. The project has brought together 220 volunteer college students and dozens of physicians and community members to help thousands of families deal with a variety of social issues and get food, housing and medical care.
Inspired by an article about Dr. Barry Zuckerman, a Boston University professor and chairman of pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, in which he spoke of social and poverty issues in clinical care, Onie wanted to get involved. So the Brookline native called Zuckerman, brought in 10 volunteer students from Harvard, and got the ball rolling.
Zuckerman said he was sold by Rebecca’s “clear commitment, passion and interest.”
Since 1995, Onie and undergraduate students from MIT, Harvard, Brown and Columbia have created 15 programs to aid children, including a “family help desk” at Boston Medical Center. In the past year, “help desk” volunteers have helped 800 families with issues varying from unsanitary housing to homelessness and hunger.
“Students have a disregard for red tape,” Onie said. “We’re able to take the problem of physicians and patients and develop innovative solutions.”
Here’s how it works:
Undergraduate students must apply to become Project HEALTH volunteers. Each week students meet with hospital and community mentors to discuss their progress.
“Every volunteer has to have an effective change in the patients’ and families’ lives,” Onie said.
Project HEALTH’s efforts include a swimming program in which asthmatic children are taught about their medical needs, and programs to improve literacy, nutrition, housing and job training.
Meanwhile, Onie has expanded the project to New York City, Chicago and Hartford. Now a Harvard graduate, she works full time on Project HEALTH, which has received financial support from the Boston Police Department, Boston Medical Center and BankBoston. She plans to attend Harvard Law School next year while remaining an adviser to the project.
“I see a bright future for the nation’s children because of Rebecca,” BMC’s Zuckerman said.