A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Disaster Relief: What AWB Is Doing (and How to Help)
Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB) is doing what it does best: helping people in need. In the wake of Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian, AWB is working in communities in the affected areas to help heal. Here's some of what the organization is and will be doing, per an AWB press release:
"In Florida, the Carolinas, and other southeastern states, we stand ready to collaborate with local acupuncturists and organizations to offer treatments once people are in stable environments.
"AWB [also] has been working in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria. The same mountain communities devastated five years ago received the brunt of Hurricane Fiona [in September]. Our Puerto Rican team is providing care next week in Ponce and Aguadilla, and has asked that we send practitioners to help as the need is overwhelming.
"AWB practitioners from the US are going in mid-October to provide treatments in places like Aguada, Cabo Rojo, Guanica, Rincon, and Mayaguez. Our goal is to provide direct care for at least 4,000 people.
"We have also been invited to help organize care teams in Eastern Canada, where Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and Port aux Basque have been devastated by Hurricane Fiona.
Acupuncturists Without Borders has launched a donation campaign to help the latest disaster victims and support the organization's work elsewhere. Click here to make a one-time or monthly donation. Choose "U.S. / Puerto Rico Disaster Relief." You can also use the donation site to support other AWB projects, such as community clinics, Israel or Nepal projects, among other campaigns; or simply "Anywhere it's Most Needed."
What is AWB providing? "[A]cupuncture, massage, and herbal medicine ... to communities coping with traumatic events. This care is very powerful and helps people feel supported, connected, and better able to rebuild." Learn more about AWB here.