Last Tuesday night, September 27th, Laundry Love happened from 6-8:30pm at Bing Wong Wash Center on Telegraph and Parker. Laundry Love is a free laundry service put on by volunteer students, and it is an amazing opportunity to meet and build genuine relationships with those in our community. It usually happens on the last week of every month at the Bing Wong Wash Center itself, located at 2602 Telegraph Ave. between Carleton and Parker. Quarters, detergent, and dryer sheets are provided for those interested!

Hello and Welcome to all Prospective Suitcase Clinic Volunteers,

**************This post has been updated September 2nd, 2011, please be sure to have the new application below************

Thank you so much for your interest in our Suitcase Class this semester. The Fall semester has just begun, and that means another amazing semester of the HMS 98/198 Suitcase Clinic Class to train students to become caseworkers within our Youth, Women’s, and General Clinics.

Here is a general layout of how our application process and class works. The way our class works is that first you must apply and then afterwards upon acceptance you will be given the proper CCN and Course Entry Codes to enroll into the course. The class functions as the training for volunteers, and due to the limited number of spots we have created the aforementioned application process. If you have enrolled in our class using the CCN on the Berkeley Course Listing, please unenroll immediately or you may have problems re-adding the class in the future.

The following is a list of the things you will need in order for you to fill out our application:

1.  (Optional) Please attend one of our info sessions on Thursday September 1^st, from 5-7pm in 100 Wheeler, or attend our 2^nd info session on Friday September 2^nd from 7-9pm in 170 Barrows. These information sessions are not mandatory, but are very important for you to learn more in-depth information about what we do as a clinic, and also about what the class will be like.

2. Be sure, absolutely sure, that you are able to attend every single class on Thursday from 5-7pm, because attendance is mandatory for the first 7 weeks, no exceptions. This includes possible Chemistry, Physics, or other evening exams.

3. You must also attend at least one 30 minute tour of one of our clinics. Applicants who have not at least attended one clinic tour will not be considered. Attendance is taken at each tour time so please be sure to sign in with a class coordinator.

The tour times are:

Women’s Clinic Tours meet in front of the RSF, Monday, Sept. 5^th.
Tours leave at 7:30pm, 8pm, and 8:30pm.

Youth Clinic Tours meet in front of the RSF, Monday, Sept. 5th.
Tours leave at 7:00pm, 7:30pm, and 8pm.

General Clinic Tours meet at Sproul Fountain, Tuesday Sept. 6^th.
Tours leave at 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm and 8:30pm.

4.  A link to download the application is at the bottom of the post. Please fill out a copy and then print it and turn it into our box in 570 University Hall by Wednesday, Sept. 7^th by 4pm sharp. Be on the look out that evening for a phone call or email regarding our decision for your application. If you have any questions, please email suitcaseclass@gmail.com and allow 24-48hrs for a Response. Please be sure to include a copy of your current schedule of classes (from telebears if you would like).

5. The First Suitcase Class begins on Sept. 8^th, and is in 100 Wheeler. All applicants will be contacted the evening of Sept. 7^th regardless of our decision, so be sure to check your email that evening or the morning of September 8^th.

Thank you again for your interest in the Suitcase Clinic, we are privileged to have so many interested volunteers. We look forward to reading your application!

Fall 2011 Suitcase Clinic Application Download Here!

Good Luck!

-Class Coordinators

If there is a problem downloading this application, please email suitcaseclass@gmail.com . If the document is opened with Google Chrome, please click file, then ‘download original’.

The latest edition of our newsletter, The Voice of Suitcase Clinic, can be downloaded here: VoSC August 2011.

To read past editions of our newsletter, visit our Publications page.

Newly implemented soap dispenser at People's Park

When SHARE was discussing issues at People’s Park, a common complaint that our clients were bringing up again and again about was the lack of soap dispensers in bathrooms at the park. Every time soap dispensers were put in place, they would get vandalized so the people in charge of the park had just given up on replacing them.

The clients in SHARE discussed possible solutions and designs that would allow for new dispensers to be put up. Then a SHARE coord, Lexi, went to a People’s Park Advisory Board meeting and brought up the solutions that our clients in SHARE had decided were the best. Within a few weeks, Devon, the administrator in charge of the park emailed Lexi a picture of the new soap dispensers.

The design was one that had been discussed as solution in SHARE. SHARE cannot take full credit for this project since the meeting’s minutes had already included the soap dispensers as an item, but it does seem that they listened to our suggestions at the very least.

-Annie, Stephanie, and Lexi (SHARE Coordinators)

3rd Annual UC Berkeley Poverty & Homelessness Symposium
Poverty Dialogues: From Awareness to Action

Sunday, April 10, 2011, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Maude Fife Room, 3rd floor Wheeler Hall on U.C. Berkeley campus

Register by April 6th at http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~habitat/poverty/!

FREE lunch provided!

Key-note speakers include:
– Keith Carson, Alameda County Supervisor
– Tiny Garcia, POOR Magazine/PoorNewsNetwork(PNN)

The 3rd Annual symposium will address issues that perpetuate poverty and homelessness in Alameda County by: (1) inviting community organizations to provide insight into complex issues through creative break-out sessions; (2) encouraging discussion in an educational forum with those across all backgrounds; and (3) inspiring attendees to become more involved in the local community by providing opportunities for action.

In addition, a panel comprising of members of the homeless community will discuss the issues of representation, education, healthcare, and housing and their effects on the homeless population. An art gallery will be a large part of our program as various student groups, organizations, and homeless people will provide art that pertains to homelessness.

We welcome and encourage the students, faculty and staff of UC Berkeley and nearby campuses as well as members of the Berkeley community to attend to provide channels for the community to get involved in ameliorating the problems faced by homeless and low income individuals and families.

For more information, please contact Lia at challengingpoverty@berkeley.edu.

Sponsored by The Suitcase Clinic, Cal Habitat for Humanity, and Cal Corps Public Service Center with generous support from California Campus Compact and the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve America.

Thank you for your interest in the Suitcase Clinic. In order to be accepted into the class, you must complete the following (3) three actions:

1. Attend one informational session (Thursday Jan. 20 from 5-7 pm or Friday Jan. 21 from 7-9 pm. Both are in 220 Wheeler). UPDATE: If you were not able to attend our info session, you are still qualified to apply for the class. Please browse our website or send an email to suitcaseclass@gmail.com to help answer any questions or concerns.
   
2. Go on at least one clinic tour and complete the corresponding clinic tour worksheet. Please print out the tour worksheet before coming to the tour.For women’s and youth clinic: Monday, Jan. 24 7 pm, 7:30 pm, and 8 pm (Meet in front of the RSF)
   For general clinic: Tuesday, Jan. 25 7 pm, 7:30 pm, and 8 pm (Meet in front of Sproul Fountain, next to GBC)
3. Fill out the application and turn in to 570 University Hall by 4 pm on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

All candidates will be notified of their status on Wednesday, Jan. 26 in the evening either by phone or email.

If you put yourself on the waitlist for the class, please remove yourself immediately. You cannot gain entry into the class unless you complete the 3 above steps and are accepted into the course.

For questions or concerns, please contact suitcaseclass@gmail.com.

LINK TO APPLICATION AND CLINIC TOUR WORKSHEETS:

General Clinic Tour Worksheet

Youth Clinic Tour Worksheet

Women’s Clinic Tour Worksheet

Spring 2011 HMS 98/198 Class Application

Starting Tuesday the 25th at 8am through Saturday the 29th at 5pm, the Oakland Housing Authority will be accepting applications for Section 8 housing. Section 8 is a major program that subsidizes housing for all those that are accepted. Our CARE officers will be spending time next week with interested clients to work on their applications. This opportunity is rare to come by so let all clients know that CARE can be a great help!

For more information, please check out the Oakland Housing Authority’s FAQs.

The Suitcase Clinic is a student group that operates three multi-disciplinary clinics each week and offers free services to the Bay Area homeless and low-income communities since 1989. The Suitcase Clinic offers health care, medicines, vision screening, wellness activities, legal advice, dinners, foot-washing and the services of a chiropractor, a hair stylist and massage therapist free to the public.

We are run on an all-volunteer basis by undergraduates, medical, law, and optometry students, and volunteer professionals from a number of fields. Seventy percent of our clients are homeless. Our General Clinic runs every Tuesday night, and our Women’s and Youth Clinics run Monday nights.

What you can do as part of Suitcase Clinic:
- Give more than spare change to the homeless on the streets of Berkeley
- Gain exposure to law, public health, public policy, and social welfare
- Meet community leaders who work to alleviate poverty locally
- Advocate to end hunger and homelessness in sustainable ways

If you are interested in volunteering, we offer a 2 unit P/NP class through which you will receive training, as well as learn more about the homeless population and the problems they face. The class is HMS 98/198 (Thursdays 5-7PM) and we meet starting Thursday, January 27 in 220 Wheeler.

For more info about The Suitcase Clinic check out our *Spring 2011 Info Nights* on:

• Thursday, January 20 from 5-7PM in 220 Wheeler
• Friday, January 20 from 7-9PM in 220 Wheeler

We will post the application on Thursday, January 20 at http://www.suitcaseclinic.org. We highly encourage you to attend the info session or talk to a current Suitcase member about the organization before filling out the application. Applications are due on Wednesday, January 26 at 4PM in 570 University Hall.

In order to get accepted to the class, you must attend ONE info session, take a 30 minute tour (on Monday Jan. 24 or Tuesday Jan. 25 from 7PM, 7:30PM, 8:00PM), and fill out an application. Please take yourself off of the waiting list. The waiting list will not allow you entry to the course. You will receive course entry codes only when you are accepted into the class.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to email suitcaseclass@gmail.com

Thank you!
Suitcase Clinic Class Coordinators