Dayton Children’s Hospital partners with Miami Valley Community ID card program

How often are you asked to show your ID?

We need identification to drive and fly. We need it to cash a check or buy certain things at the grocery store. Our driver’s license or military identification is so important that we hardly ever leave the house without that little card with our name and statistics on it.  

But for some people, getting that little card is not easy. Consider a family facing homelessness or who was relocated to our area by a natural disaster. Important paperwork needed to obtain a state ID can be lost and take a lot of time to recover. Those state IDs also come with a price. While it may seem a minimal fee to most people, for others there is no money to spare. Food, medicine or shelter has to come first.  

Without identification, families and individuals face many barriers.  As we work to remove barriers and improve access for families, Dayton Children’s has partnered with the Miami Valley Community ID program.  Through this program, individuals can obtain identification cards to check-in for medical appointments or visit their loved ones.  

what is the Miami Valley Community ID?  

Several years ago, the City of Dayton Welcome Dayton program, Hall Hunger Initiative and Westminster Presbyterian Church partnered to bring this program to the Miami Valley. Through this program, individuals who don’t have the necessary requirements or financial support to receive a state-issued ID card or driver’s license can obtain this ID.  While this ID cannot be used to vote, won’t impact present or future immigration status, and can’t be used to stop prosecution of someone who is engaged in illegal activity, it’s a great resource to help individuals connect to services. 

We want families to feel connected to Dayton Children’s as well as the entire community and believe by partnering with the Miami Valley Community ID program barriers can be removed and greater connections can be made. Ensuring families have access to this resource helps to provide a level of dignity to those need it. 

To learn more about the Miami Valley Community ID program, click here.