Churches help forgive more than $5M in medical debt for nearly 6,000 Chicago families

CHICAGO (WLS) -- More than $5 million in medical debt has been wiped out for nearly 6,000 families on Chicago's South Side.

New York-based nonprofit RIP Medical Debt Relief worked with local churches to forgive the debt.

One of the churches that pitched in was Trinity United Church of Christ on W 95th Street. They raised $38,000 to buy all that debt at pennies on the dollar.

The medical debt of each of the 5,888 families averaged just over $900.

Church leaders announced the gift during a press conference on Sunday.