Before Care Had a System

Before healthcare systems were accessible, trusted, or designed to reach everyone, care often lived within the community. It was shared through conversations, relationships, trusted messengers, family members, neighbors, and the people who helped others find their way.

Before Care Had a System invites the community to gather for storytelling, reflection, and conversation centered on the life and legacy of Mattie Bell Kinney, a Cincinnati community leader whose work helped expand access to cancer education, early detection, and trusted outreach during the 1970s.

Through Mattie’s story, this gathering will explore how Black communities have navigated care, illness, support, and advocacy across generations. The event will include a short documentary followed by a guided community conversation featuring voices connected to healthcare leadership, cancer support, caregiving, survivorship, and community memory.

This is not a lecture or a traditional panel. It is a space to listen, reflect, and engage with one another.

Together, we’ll explore:

• How people accessed care in the past
• The role of trust within communities
• What has changed, and what has not
• What support looks like today
• How history can help us care for one another now