This past Monday, February 8th 2010, Jon Newsome and
I volunteered at the San Jose Clinic at 301 Hamilton from 12:30 to
2:30 p.m.. We met with Sam Sherman and we were quickly oriented with all of the services the clinic provides and to whom the services are provided. Sam told us that the clinic provides health care to those who have residences, i.e. they do not serve the homeless. I have previously taken a Service Learning course at UST and for that class I volunteered at The Beacon--a soup kitchen-- so I was disgruntled when I realized that all the people who had taken showers, eaten lunch, or had their clothes washed at The Beacon were not welcome at this clinic. However, after talking to Sam for a few more minutes during the orientation I realized that perhaps there are different niches among the charity institutions, i.e. San Jose helps people who are working but can not afford medical insurance while organizations such as Health Care For The Homeless can help the homeless with the same issues.
I volunteered at the San Jose Clinic at 301 Hamilton from 12:30 to
2:30 p.m.. We met with Sam Sherman and we were quickly oriented with all of the services the clinic provides and to whom the services are provided. Sam told us that the clinic provides health care to those who have residences, i.e. they do not serve the homeless. I have previously taken a Service Learning course at UST and for that class I volunteered at The Beacon--a soup kitchen-- so I was disgruntled when I realized that all the people who had taken showers, eaten lunch, or had their clothes washed at The Beacon were not welcome at this clinic. However, after talking to Sam for a few more minutes during the orientation I realized that perhaps there are different niches among the charity institutions, i.e. San Jose helps people who are working but can not afford medical insurance while organizations such as Health Care For The Homeless can help the homeless with the same issues.
After the orientation Jon and I packed a LOT of files into boxes so that they could be shipped to the new location -- 2615 Fannin. The staff seem friendly and responsive and I saw a few doctors who are also volunteers. This coming Monday Jon and I are volunteering again and for every Monday after that at 11:30 - 2:30 p.m. There is no question that every person the clinic serves is in dire need of the assistance and so I look forward to contributing what I can to the organization.
Until Next Week,
pmoney
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