Community Health Centers of Pinellas at Johnnie Ruth Clarke

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At night, when the clinic doors were locked and quiet settled over Johnnie Ruth Clarke Street, a little girl’s voice would sometimes whisper from an empty hallway. Staff members heard it but never saw anyone. Was it just their imagination or had someone left something behind? One evening, a delivery driver reported hearing soft laughter coming from the empty waiting room. When he looked around, nobody was there—except for a pile of old magazines that seemed to be giggling on their own. From then on, staff started leaving funny articles for each other in those magazines, creating a secret humor library only they knew about.

2. At dawn, when most clinics are still dark, an old man started showing up outside Community Health Centers of Pinellas at Johnnie Ruth Clarke. He carried a basket filled with fresh flowers, which he left on the steps before quietly disappearing into the mist. One morning, a delivery driver noticed the flowers and asked about them. The staff shrugged it off as just another anonymous act of kindness until, weeks later, a neighbor dropped by with a note: ‘Dear Clinic, please take better care of your flowers—Johnnie’s Ruth’s allergies are acting up again.’

3. At midnight, when the clinic was closed for the day, a delivery driver noticed something odd: boxes of band-aids seemed to appear on their own in the empty hallway. Curious, the driver followed the trail of band-aids and found an old lady quietly placing them back into storage. ‘I thought I’d help,’ she said with a smile. The next morning, everyone in the clinic had a fresh supply—and a new friend.’

4. At dusk, when the clinic’s lights flickered on, a neighborhood cat began appearing near the entrance. It always sat patiently, waiting until the last patient left before disappearing into the shadows. One evening, an exhausted delivery driver entered the clinic just as the cat did its usual routine. Seeing it, he asked curiously, ‘Hey, little fella, why do you hang around here every night?’ The cat looked up with wise eyes and purred softly, seemingly answering, ‘Because I’m guarding against late-night patients who might forget their masks.’ Everyone laughed, realizing that maybe the cat was just another friendly face in the community.