2018 News
DWW-SBSM Timeline
By Urvashi Singh Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street Medicine has come a long way since its inception in 2005. What began as the passion-fueled idea of family practice physician Dr. Noemi "Mimi" Doohan, is now a nonprofit organization comprised of over 170 local, community volunteers committed to serving the underserved population of Santa [...]
Holiday Giving
By Kelly Garvey With the holiday season in full swing, find ways below to give back and volunteer in our community! If you are considering donating money this holiday season, please consider donating to help us continue to provide local medical care where it is needed most. Every little bit helps. $5 will buy [...]
Trans Care is Primary Care
by Margaux Everingham A few years back, one innovative medical professional realized that transgender kids in the Santa Barbara area were not receiving hormone therapy because local providers did not have sufficient education. This medical professional was Sofie DeVaney, a physician assistant (PA) with Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC). She decided to learn about hormone [...]
Pulling the Thorn from the Lion’s Paw
By Abby Lau Josh Monroy is a Santa Barbara native. He was born and raised in Santa Barbara and has been a landscape designer in the area for 25 years. He was introduced to DWW-SBSM through his family: his aunt, Mimi, is one of the founders of the organization his mother, Maggie, is the [...]
“Good Deeds” Do Not Go Unnoticed
By Abby Lau This year, DWW-SBSM volunteers participated in a multi-organization “care package making” event. They made over 200 packages, which will be going to individuals experiencing homelessness in the Santa Barbara area. Every November on a day known as Mitzvah Day, organizations within the Jewish community undertake a volunteer project to serve their local [...]
Women on the Streets
By Nicolette Slender A few weeks back, I was joking with one of the regular attendees of our Women’s Free Homeless Clinic (WFHC) about how the men in our lives struggle to figure out how to properly use soap. A few laughs and petty remarks later, we ended up discussing different ways men and [...]
Volunteer Profile: Cassie Roach
By Dami Akande Cassie Roach first became involved with Doctors Without Walls in July 2015, after she graduated UCSB as a Biopsychology and Religious Studies double major. In her three years with DWW, she has worked as a scribe as well as in packs and now currently serves as coordinator of the Lompoc clinic. [...]
Alumni Profile: Matt Sumethasorn & Daniel Boctor
by Dami Akande “It was originally a joke,” Matt Sumethasorn tells me regarding his cross-country roadtrip with fellow DWW alumni, Daniel Boctor. The duo spent two and a half weeks this summer traveling across the West Coast to Canada and back down into the states to visit national parks as a final hurrah before starting [...]
Population Health Highlights
by Anna Thiemann Mental Illness and Health Disparity The largest health disparity that many are not talking about is mental illness. A recent study found that Americans with depression, bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses die 15 to 30 years younger than those without mental illness. This health gap is larger than socioeconomic class, race, [...]
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinic Dental Screening
By Dami Akande On August 12-18, 2018, health centers across the country celebrated National Health Center Week. Each day of the week, health centers were encouraged to serve and/or advocate for a particular patient population. On Wednesday, they were called to care for individuals experiencing homelessness through “Healthcare for the Homeless Day.” In solidarity, the [...]
Glow in the Park 2018
DWW-SBSM is sad to announce that we will not be hosting the annual “Glow in the Park” this 2018 year. Given the wake of the Thomas Fire and the Montecito Debris Flow, we not feel that this event was a good fit for this year. We are excited about having this event in 2019. [...]
Another Milestone
By Vivian Bui This year marks the ten year anniversary of Doctors Without Walls–Santa Barbara Street Medicine. Ten years later, DWW–SBSM has expanded the way healthcare is directly delivered to the most vulnerable people in the community of Santa Barbara. DWW–SBSM is grateful to our volunteers and to the wonderful partners that have helped [...]
Lompoc Clinic: A Year of Growth
By Christopher Stathis It all started on a warm Saturday, August 13th, 2016. Patients in Lompoc started to receive care from Doctors Without Walls- Santa Barbara Street Medicine. This population was identified thanks to the help of Jeff Shaffer who gave a tip about the need in Lompoc. After a scouting mission from Jason Prystowsky [...]
The 11th Annual UCSB Underserved Medicine Seminar
By Matt Daly “Health is Hope. And Hope is Everything.” – Haitian Proverb The Underserved Medicine Seminar continues to grow each year. In Winter 2018, a total of 282 students flocked to Buchanan 1910 on Tuesday evenings to listen to a variety of inspirational speakers who traveled to UCSB from across the globe. This [...]
Doctors Without Walls Alumni Spotlight
Morris Aguilar was formerly Packs Logistics Coordinator with Doctors Without Walls from 2015-2016. Now, Morris is currently a medical scientist training program (MSTP) student at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Sean Nguyen was Volunteer Coordinator of Doctors Without Walls from 2016 to 2017. He is now a first year medical student at the [...]
A Closer Look at Street Health Outreach
By Raquel Tenorio Street Health Outreach, or SHO, has been a part of the Isla Vista community for less than 10 years, but the impact it has made in the community has been outstanding. The organization was started by Doctors Without Walls volunteers with a mission to provide basic care to the houseless in Isla [...]