Through the Lens of Giving: Helping Hands of Tennessee in Pictures

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In 2018, HHT opened its’ first dental clinic to serve families with household gross earnings up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Our dental assistance program includes full general dentistry services which include dental extractions, composite fillings, dental cleanings, customized dentures along with other dental treatments. Helping Hands of Tennessee is the only region’s comprehensive oral and medical healthcare provider outside of Memphis, Tennessee in the West Tennessee region. 

Helping Hands of Tennessee serves as a hybrid clinic which means we help insured and uninsured individuals. HHT provides dental treatments for patients aged 2 to 99 years of age regardless of their ability to pay for dental treatments. Our dental assistant program is based upon the gross household income on a three-tier system. We operate the clinic Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. 70 percent of our patients are uninsured; 20 percent of our patients have dental insurance and 10 percent of our patients are self-pay patients. 

Our clinic is staffed with medical and dental professionals. The Helping Hands of Tennessee is a member of the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinic, Tennessee Charitable Care Network, and Rural Health Association of Tennessee. Our clinic is funded and participates in the HRSA federal student repayment program. 

In 2018, Helping Hands of Tennessee started an annual community outreach program. We began our program by collaborating with over thirty community nonprofit organizations and Madison County health with the Spring into Health event. The Spring into Health event provided no-cost oral screenings to over 400 patients. 

Then, in 2019, Helping Hands of Tennessee expanded our program to include the America’s Dental Care Foundation (ADCF) and developed our first annual Jackson Mission of Mercy event. The Jackson Mission Mercy event provides no-cost medical and dental services to underserved populations. Our first Jackson Mission of Mercy event was held in March 2019 where we had over 180 community volunteer dentists, hygienists, dental assistants, medical doctors, medical nurses, and a host of other community volunteers. 

The Jackson Mission of Mercy served over 1,000 patients during the two-day event and provided $250,000 of dental treatments at no cost to the patients. The Jackson Mission of Mercy events offers dental extractions, dental cleanings, oral cancer screenings, oral examinations to the public. By 2023, Helping Hands of Middle & West closed their dental clinic to collaborate with local and state organizations to address oral healthcare differently. 

Recognizing the challenges in connecting patients to workforce opportunities and resources for financial stability, HHT began piloting workforce training programs in 2023 through apprenticeship models providing more effective, hands-on learning aligned with local industry needs.

HHT became a Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development approved apprenticeship provider in 2023. This allowed us to formally establish multi-craft apprenticeship opportunities across various in-demand fields.

Today, workforce development is a core part of our mission. Our premier program is a variety of pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship offerings. These provide low-income and marginalized populations the skills, experience, and credentials to gain family-sustaining employment through several Registered Apprenticeship Programs.