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When Audelia’s physician retired, she was faced with finding another who could help her on her limited income.

That’s when her sister told her about the Medical Care Mission.

“She knew I had a low income,” Audelia said, “so she told me that I could get help here. She knew my medication was really expensive.”

Audelia suffers with diabetes and high blood pressure. With the combination of filling some prescriptions at K-mart under Dr. Stoebner’s recommendation and receiving some medication through the Mission’s Prescription Assistance Program, Audelia is able to afford all of her medication, which would normally cost hundreds of dollars.

“I don’t know where I’d go if not here,” she said. “There’s no way I could afford an office visit and all of my medication anywhere else.”

Many of her friends are patients of the Mission, as well, but she knows others who could benefit from the care that the clinic offers.

“One of my friends is not working right now,” she said. “ He can’t find a job because he’s real sick. He’s struggling to pay his doctor. I keep telling him he needs to come here. The Mission can help.”

Wilma, a former Certified Nursing Assistant, found herself unable to work because of severe arthritis.

“I rely mostly on my kids to pay my bills,” she said. She was told by someone in the community that the Mission could help her.

She has been a patient for several years but was diagnosed with diabetes just seven months ago. Wilma said she’s not surprised that she is diabetic, considering how many people in her family also have the illness, but she is grateful that she was already in the care of a physician at the Mission when she was diagnosed.

“If I couldn’t come to the Mission, I wouldn’t get care,” she said. “I would never even know that I had diabetes.”

Crystals says if it weren't for the Mission, she'd be forced to "suffer through any pain."

In 2008, Crystal’s life took a dramatic turn.

“I lost everything,” she said. “It was a house fire. My husband, Creig, died.”

After Creig’s death, Crystal decided to move back to Abilene to be near family. When she became ill, she turned to 2-1-1 for help and was referred to the Mission.

“It is such a relief, medically and financially,” Crystal said. “If it weren’t for here, I would just have to suffer through any pain I have because I can’t afford another doctor.”

Crystal says she is glad she moved back to Abilene because of how caring people in the community tend to be.

“Abilene is one of the better places to live because a lot of people are so compassionate,” she said. “It’s just that so many people don’t realize that there are this many people in need, and a lot of people are afraid to ask for help.”