Health Brigade

08/04/2026

We have some exciting news to share... 💙

Health Brigade has been voted Richmond Magazine's Best Nonprofit Organization for 2026!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for us, cheer us on, volunteer, donate, partner with us, and trust us with your care. This recognition belongs to all of you.

For more than 56 years, we've believed that everyone deserves compassionate, affirming healthcare—no matter who they are, where they come from, or what challenges they're facing. Every day, our staff, volunteers, supporters, and community partners help make that vision a reality.

Around here, we often say Care is Resistance. In a world where access to healthcare isn't guaranteed for everyone, choosing to care for one another is a powerful act. This award is a reminder that Richmond believes that, too.

Thank you for standing with us. Here's to another year of showing up for our neighbors, building healthier communities, and proving that when we care for each other, we all thrive.

And thank you, Richmond. We couldn't do this without you. 💙

07/31/2026

Beyond our walls, care happens everywhere. 🏀

In 2020, during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unexpected partnership began.

When the RVA League for Safer Streets wanted young people to safely return to the basketball court, Health Brigade’s Medical Director, Dr. Rachel Waller, stepped in to provide COVID testing so the games could continue.

What started as a public health response became something much bigger: a relationship built on trust, consistency, and showing up.

Today, Dr. Waller still spends one evening a week with the league, bringing food, hygiene supplies, Naloxone, Plan B, condoms, and health resources to more than 300 young men. But the most important thing she brings is something harder to measure: trust.

At Health Brigade, we know health doesn’t begin and end in an exam room. Health happens in neighborhoods, on basketball courts, at community gatherings, and in the everyday relationships that help people feel seen and supported.

The League for Safer Streets is creating space for young people impacted by the justice system to build leadership, strengthen community, and rewrite their stories through basketball, mentorship, and workshops focused on conflict resolution and problem solving.

Every week, we see what happens when healthcare providers show up consistently:
✨ Conversations happen.
✨ Resources are shared.
✨ Relationships grow.

Care is Resistance looks like showing up beyond our walls. It looks like believing that trust is healthcare. It looks like understanding that a basketball court can be a place of healing, belonging, and hope.

Sometimes the most important thing we bring into a community isn’t just a test, a supply bag, or a referral.

It’s our presence.

📸 Photos by Patience Salgado

07/27/2026

..and for the love of public health, wear sunscreen. 💗✌️

07/23/2026

We're grateful to be featured in the latest issue of Richmond magazine discussing the growing role of telehealth in expanding access to care across Virginia.

For many of our patients, healthcare isn't just about finding an appointment—it's about finding transportation, taking time off work, arranging childcare, or navigating other barriers that can make getting to a clinic difficult. Telehealth helps remove some of those obstacles, making it easier for people to access primary care and mental health services when and where they need them.

As our Director of Mental Health & Wellness, Dr. Muriel Azria-Evans, shares in the article, telehealth has become an invaluable tool for reaching patients, particularly those with the fewest resources.

We're proud to be part of the conversation about building a healthcare system that meets people where they are.

Thank you to Richmond Magazine for highlighting this important work!

More traction for telehealth and new hospitals coming to Chesterfield

07/23/2026

We have a lot to say about your balls. 😏

But seriously: thank you, Stonewall Sports Richmond (Stonewall Sports Richmond), for putting your balls to work for public health. Your fundraising helps support Health Brigade and the care we provide to our community.

Turns out, the best balls in Richmond really do have the biggest hearts. 🏐💚

We’re so grateful for you!

07/22/2026

What’s in the box?! 📦👀 Jojo’s here to show you how we’re packing food boxes for our neighbors. ❤️

Want the full guide? Head to our **Care Is Resistance** website for the complete list of what to put in the box and how you can help. ✊

07/21/2026

Before Health Brigade was Health Brigade, it was a simple but radical idea: that our community could care for one another differently.

In 1968, 22-year-old Mary Clem saw neighbors falling through the cracks and decided that wasn’t acceptable. She started making phone calls, connecting volunteer healthcare providers with people who needed care, and helping build what would become the Fan Free Clinic.

At 22, you don’t always know what’s possible. You don’t always know how difficult the road ahead will be. Sometimes you simply know that something isn’t right, and you refuse to accept it.

That refusal became a movement.

More than five decades later, Health Brigade continues the work Mary helped begin: showing up for our neighbors, removing barriers to care, and building a healthier, more just community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

We’re deeply grateful for Mary’s vision, courage, and determination. We carry her legacy forward every day in the care we provide, the relationships we build, and the belief that caring for one another is still one of the most powerful things we can do.

07/17/2026

Air Quality Alert Update: Richmond is under a Code PURPLE Alert until midnight.

Today's air is very unhealthy due to high levels of fine particle pollution. Everyone should avoid strenuous outdoor activity, and those with heart or lung conditions, older adults, and children should limit time outside as much as possible.

If you can, stay indoors, keep windows closed, and check in on neighbors who may be more vulnerable. 💙

07/17/2026

Smoke from Canadian wildfires is expected to affect air quality in Richmond beginning on Friday.

For most healthy people, this may only cause mild symptoms. But if you have asthma, COPD, heart disease, are pregnant, are over 65, have young children, or work outdoors, it's a good idea to take a few extra precautions.

Swipe through for simple ways to protect yourself, and check the Air Quality Index (AQI) before spending extended time outside.

Take care of yourself and each other. 💙

07/15/2026

If your algorithm has suddenly become deeply invested in food recalls and diarrhea...same.

Instead of adding to the "DON'T EAT THIS" discourse, we wanted to share something just as important: what Cyclospora actually is, what symptoms to watch for, and when it's time to check in with a healthcare provider.

Sometimes public health means having a completely normal conversation about p**p. You know?

We're definitely p**p positive around here. Spending your week in the bathroom? Not so much.