Our Story

2003 - St. Benedict Health and Healing Ministry (SBHHM) began in the basement of Our Merciful Savior Episcopal Church in NW Denver. The founder, Rev. Sally Bowersox, and a volunteer physician began taking blood pressures and providing healthcare outreach to the homeless, unemployed and working poor in the nearby neighborhoods.

2005 - Having worked as an RN at Boulder Community Hospital for almost 20 years, Rev. Bowersox saw the profound (and often hidden) health care disparities in Boulder County. SBHHM began its outreach in Boulder County with a Free Clinic at Sister Carmen Community Center’s Thrift Shop in June. In the fall of that year, SBHHM opened its second Free Clinic at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Members of Episcopal congregations in Boulder County formed the first Board of Directors.

September 2007 - SBHHM received a grant from Rose Community Foundation which enabled hiring a grant writer and the expansion of its funding base.

July 2011 - SBHHM secured an administrative office at Sister Carmen Community Center’s food pantry and administrative offices in Lafayette.

January 2013 - SBHHM began offering free clinics at the OUR Center in Longmont.

November 2013 - SBHHM began a program in memory of former Board of Directors member Rev. Don Burt, to provide over-the-counter medications and basic health care supplies to homeless individuals staying in emergency warming centers. The program is called the Don Burt Community Care Program.

March 2014 - A volunteer made a donation to support patients at Free Clinics with financial assistance for prescriptions and medical supplies. The program is called the Medical Financial Assistance Program.

January 2017 - A “contemplative” program began under the direction of then Board member Mr. Matt Kapinus to instruct participants on the practice of meditation and stretching for better stress management and overall improvement of mental and physical health. The program, originally offered only at Boulder Housing Partner (BHP) locations, expanded to the OUR Center in April 2017. It is once again exclusively at BHP, and is called the Gentle Yoga/Chair Stretching program.

July 2018 - SBHHM said good-bye to founding Executive Director Rev. Sally Bowersox, RN, who began her retirement. The extra work required of her in preparing the organization to continue to be successful included orienting her successor, Mr. Bill Goodwin. The Board of Directors took an active role in the transition based on the vast experience of its members in the operational and administrative aspects of the organization’s work.

October 2019 - The Boulder County Housing Authority invited SBHHM to host a monthly clinic at its Josephine Commons development in Lafayette.

June 2020 - SBHHM welcomed its third Executive Director following a nation-wide search that began four months earlier when Bill Goodwin announced his retirement.