In a world often marked by challenges and uncertainty, there are those who step forward to bring light and healing when it’s needed most. Teresa Gray, founder of Mobile Medics International, is one such person—a quiet hero whose mission is rooted in compassion and action. From disaster zones to underserved communities, she and her team provide critical medical care, often overcoming incredible odds to reach those in need.
Teresa's life and work are a testament to the power of humanity and the profound impact of selfless service. At any time of year, but especially now, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on and celebrate those who dedicate their lives to helping others.
Read her story.
What inspired you to start Mobile Medics International, and what keeps you passionate about its mission?
In 2015 I did my first humanitarian aid mission in Lesvos Greece for the Syrian refugees. I went with an organization out of Ireland, and then went to the Philippines and Haiti with the same organization for disaster responses. Most disaster response organizations use the model of - deployment to the area, set up a pop-up clinic and have people who need medical care come to them. I saw the need for mobile medical teams to go to where the people are, in their homes, in shelters, in refugee camps. This prevents people in need of basic health care from overcrowding the already damaged medical infrastructure and allows them to stay in place and receive care. It also allows for those that do not have the means to get too medical, to get the care they need.
What keeps me passionate is the continual need for this type of service in crisis and the fact that we can help 100’s of people stay in their homes, take care of their basic medical needs and make it just a little easier in what may be the worst time of their lives.
Could you share a story from one of your missions that captures the spirit of your organization’s work?
Louisiana 2020, hurricane response. We found a small town that had a volunteer fire department that was trying to do the best they could for their community. It was going to take weeks for governmental officials to get to this small rural area.
We are disaster experts, but this was their first ever hurricane of this magnitude, it was our 30th.
That means we know the organizations that are responding, we know how to contact them and mobilize resources. Within 48 hours we had food, water, generators, fuel, tarps, and manpower responding to this area to help. Regular citizens with boats, national guard with heavy trucks for deliveries to areas standard vehicles couldn’t reach, world central kitchen with hot meals, out of state people with truckloads of diapers, formula, toilet paper, coolers and refrigerated trucks full of bagged ice. We brought them all together to this rural town and made sure people got their basic needs met. We set up a clinic in the fire department as well as sending out parts of our team to go door to door for those who couldn’t or wouldn’t come to the fire department. We arranged for twice a day meals to be delivered to the senior living community and had our medical people go to each apartment once a day and check on their health. We delivered coolers and ice for the diabetics to keep their insulin cold. People would drive in the front garage door of the department, state their needs, volunteers would load supplies and food in their cars, and they would drive out the back garage doors. If they needed medical, they could park and come inside, or we would come to their car. It was truly neighbor helping neighbor.
We are a medical team, but we strive to meet as many needs as we can. Medicine is secondary if your child hasn’t eaten for days, and food can be secondary if you are too sick or hurt to eat. I tell my teams that “together we are stronger.” We will do what is in the best interest of the people we are trying to help. That may mean our doctors and nurses are passing out water and food instead of medicine, because there was no medical need, but basics were needed.
What challenges do you face in reaching underserved areas, and how do you overcome them?
Some of the biggest challenges are reaching those in need. Following a disaster, infrastructure has been damaged, communications have been disrupted, airports are closed, roads are impassable. We must find a way into the country/state, find transportation, find fuel for our transportation, find a safe place for us to either put up tents, or a structure we can utilize as a team house. We then make contact with emergency operations, shelters, fire departments, churches and community leaders. They all can be utilized to help us find the need, the homebound, the elders, the children, those that were on electrical medical equipment ect.
We overcome them by using sometimes, unconventional means. When the road was impassable and an entire neighborhood in Puerto Rico was trapped, we could not get our vehicle to them, so we found a local donkey farmer that let us use his donkeys and led us up into the hills. We have used helicopters, bamboo boats, donkeys, pig trucks, scooters, airplanes and hiked to get to where the people are.
Don’t focus on the reasons it can’t be done and focus on what it would take to get it done, then make that happen.
Why is giving back essential for creating a compassionate world, and what does it mean to you personally?
MMI’s moto is taken from a Louis Pasteur quote.
One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me.
When you stop looking at people outside your circle as “us” or “them” you will start to see that we all suffer the same, we all want and need the same things, we love our children the same, no matter where I have gone in the world, mothers are mothers, fathers are fathers, and love is love.
Compassion is not about showing up for people and doing what you think is best for them, compassion is showing up for people, meeting them where they are, providing resources for them that they do not have access to and making sure follow up happens if needed. True compassion works within the framwork of what is the norm for the people you’re there to help, not what you think should happen. It does no good to start a patient on a long-term blood pressure medicine that is not available in their country or that they do not have access to, or there is a financial barrier to obtaining it. Find the resources that they can access, the medicine that will work that they can afford, the healthcare provider in their country that will follow up with them. Work with what you have.
What advice would you offer to others who feel called to make a difference through humanitarian efforts?
Find a cause that speaks to you and support it or volunteer for them. You don’t have to leave the couch to be a humanitarian. Your financial donation to a trusted organization allows for them to do their work on your behalf. If you have the time and resources or skill set to do in person volunteering, then do that. Find an organization that is well vetted, that has a real person that can talk to you and answer your questions. Try to avoid voluntourism, those places that charge you money to go “help people.”
For those inspired by your mission, what are some ways they can actively support Mobile Medics, either by volunteering or through other contributions?
The simple answer is financial funding. We are 100% funded by donations. We can only do what we do with the help of people’s generosity and giving. In addition to donations, sharing of our social media posts, sharing of our fundraising asks and doing independent fundraisers on our behalf.
If you are a licensed medical professional, EMT-Physician, from any country, consider applying to MMI. We have volunteers from all over the world, five of the seven continents.
To donate, please visit the MMI website.
1000 Spotlights: Why We Give reflects our mission of giving back, to mentor and to inspire those around us. Through a series of interview questions, we explore intrinsic motivations behind why we give, and talk with those inclined to make a difference in the lives of others. If you are involved in charitable activities, volunteer and paid academic engagements or in community service, we want to talk to you.
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