Kelly Marie Wofford knows what it is like to be a teen mom. Get food stamps. Depend on Medicaid.
She understands how it feels to be poor, sexually abused and struggle with trauma so hurtful it can lead to thoughts of suicide.
Staff and trustees of an upstate New York health foundation erupted in jubilation Thursday when they learned that MacKenzie Scott bestowed $9 million on the organization to help them address its work with racial and health inequities.
She tried to take her life in 2013, even after she leaned on education to dig out of a challenging childhood, and learned through the process of healing that it takes support, acceptance and focus to create distance between hardship and fulfillment.
“Years ago, I didn’t think this is a conversation we would ever be having in a government office,” said Wofford, who recently completed her second year as director of the Erie County Office of Health Equity.
Wofford, 47, has spent the first two years in her latest job laying the foundation for an office designed to serve those whose circumstances make it hard to lead their best lives in terms of health and well-being.
County legislators voted to establish the office in 2021, because people who live on the East Side and in western Cheektowaga are at higher…
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