Long before Dr. Ada Stewart led one of the nation’s major medical organizations, she knew what it meant to grow up without a family doctor. In the Cleveland housing projects where she was raised, her family relied on the emergency room when someone became ill. Preventive care was largely absent from her childhood.
Today, the Columbia physician’s life’s work centers on helping others gain access to the care her family lacked. Across the community, Senator Darrell Jackson has pursued a related mission through public office and the ministry of Bible Way Church of Atlas Road: connecting people with resources that help them live better.
Their paths will converge on Saturday, October 31, when the Joseph H. Neal Health Collaborative honors Stewart and Jackson at the 2026 Heart of the People Awards Brunch, held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Segra Park, 1640 Freed Street in Columbia.
With the theme “Bridging the Gap: Advancing Health Equity for Every Community,” the brunch will celebrate two leaders whose service extends beyond their professional titles. It will also raise support for the Collaborative’s work to bring education, testing, outreach, and connections to care to the underserved communities.
The Collaborative is named for a man who understood the connection between public service and daily life. The late Rev. Joseph H. Neal represented South Carolina’s House District 70 from 1993 until his death in 2017. A pastor and advocate for social and environmental justice, he worked on issues that affected people’s homes and neighborhoods, including access to clean water.
Established in 2018, the Collaborative carries that commitment forward by asking a practical question: How can people get the information, support, and care they need when barriers stand in their way?
The Collaborative’s mission rests on four pillars: Education, Testing, Access, and Retention. Together, they support a person’s journey from understanding their health and seeking testing to obtaining care and remaining connected to treatment and ongoing support.
Part of its answer is to bring services closer. The organization describes mobile outreach and pop-up events that provide confidential HIV and hepatitis C screening in neighborhoods, at faith gatherings, and at community events. Its services also include health education and referrals to trusted providers, helping people take the next step toward care.
That work depends on trust. A person may need a private place to ask a question, reassurance about testing, or help understanding where to go next. The Collaborative’s emphasis on confidential services and community outreach addresses those moments when a connection can make the difference between seeking care and delaying it.
For Stewart, the importance of prevention is personal. In a 2021 interview with AAFP News, she described losing her mother to breast cancer and recalled her family’s lack of a primary care physician. “Prevention was not part of my past, so I’m passionate about preventive medicine,” she said.
Her path to medicine began in pharmacy. Later, reading about a Black woman family physician serving her community helped Stewart envision a different future for herself. She returned to school to pursue medicine, eventually building a career that brought national leadership and community practice together.
In 2020, Stewart became the first Black woman to serve as president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She led the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that placed extraordinary demands on physicians and exposed persistent gaps in access to care.
Her work remains rooted in patient care. A family physician with Cooperative Health in Columbia and a certified HIV specialist, she has also devoted time to mentoring future doctors. The AAFP Foundation named her its 2025 Philanthropist of the Year, recognizing her service and giving that help others enter the profession and expand access to care.
Jackson’s story brings the same concern for community well-being to the South Carolina State House, the church he serves in Lower Richland County, and the neighborhoods surrounding them. A state senator since 1993 and Bible Way’s senior pastor since 1996, he has served for decades in institutions people turn to for both leadership and help.
At Bible Way, community service has a physical presence. The A. C. Jackson Wellness Center features a gym and an indoor walking track. The walking track is free and open to the public. The church-affiliated Midlands Community Development Corporation focuses on education, housing, healthcare, employment, and economic development. Church membership is not required to access its services.
Across from Bible Way, that commitment takes the form of a place to call home. The Haven at Congaree Pointe, located at 2401 Atlas Road, provides 198 affordable apartments for adults 55 and older. The community is open and offers one- and two-bedroom homes, with income qualifications for residents.
The Haven grew out of a partnership between the Midlands Community Development Corporation and affordable housing developer Dominium, with support from public and private partners. It gives concrete expression to the community development work associated with Bible Way: investing in the neighborhood so that older adults have more options for remaining part of it.
The apartments also offer places to gather and stay active, including a community room, fitness center, library, and community gardens. For an older adult, a home is also a base for maintaining independence, welcoming family and staying connected to neighbors. Those everyday possibilities help explain why housing belongs in a conversation about community well-being.
For Valerie Aiken, who is coordinating the Heart of the People Awards Brunch, the progress in the Atlas Road community is personal. “I was born and grew up in the Atlas Road community and remained there during the first six years of my marriage,” Aiken said. “When I ride through the area now, it does my heart good to see the progress. What means the most to me is seeing older residents have a safe, comfortable place to live in the community they know and love. People who might otherwise have had to move away can remain close to their churches, friends, and familiar surroundings. That is more than new housing—it is preserving a sense of home and belonging.”
That attention to older residents extends beyond housing. MCDC’s Dream Keepers Seniors Program offers experiences and resources that encourage learning and independent living. Its Dementia Alzheimer’s Family Resource Initiative supports caregivers and families through education, training, home-safety assistance, and connections to resources. The initiative seeks to help families continue caring for loved ones at home.
Taken together, these efforts show the breadth of the community work surrounding Jackson’s ministry. A senior looking for an affordable apartment, a neighbor seeking a place to exercise and a family learning to care for a loved one with dementia have different needs. Each needs a community with practical ways to respond.
Along the Bluff Road corridor, The Station at Congaree Pointe offers another example of what partnerships can achieve. Jackson joined city, county, and community leaders at the development’s September 2025 groundbreaking. Plans include a Cooperative Health center, a marketplace offering access to fresh food, commercial kitchens, and public services. The project brings several everyday needs together in one community development effort.
For Jackson, this year’s recognition also ties to the man whose name the Collaborative bears. He and Rep. Joseph Neal served concurrently in the General Assembly for more than two decades. Honoring Jackson alongside Stewart links that history of public service to the ongoing work of expanding access to healthcare.
The brunch gives residents, businesses, congregations, and civic organizations a way to support the Collaborative’s work. Individual tickets start at $75, and proceeds benefit the Joseph H. Neal Health Collaborative. Supporters can attend with friends or colleagues, become sponsors, place a program advertisement, or contribute.
Beyond the recognition and fellowship lies a purpose that endures after the tables are cleared: helping the next person find trustworthy information, receive a screening, or connect with care. The invitation to the community is to honor those who have helped open doors—and to help keep them open.
Tickets, sponsorships, and donations are available through the Heart of the People event page at www.jhnhealthcare.org. For sponsorships, program advertising, and group arrangements, contact benefit@jhnhealth.org or call (803) 386-0475. The event’s guiding message is “Powered by Grace, Driven by Community.”