Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara Street Medicine
Volunteer Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Doctors Without Walls - Santa Barbara
Street Medicine (DWW-SBSM). We are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free,
volunteer medical care to the most vulnerable of Santa Barbara County. Our organization is
composed of students and medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, nurse
practitioners, physician assistants, and more. Our student volunteers interact directly with
patients and clinicians in a variety of settings and through a variety of programs. DWW-SBSM
has multiple programs, including outdoor park clinics, an indoor Women's Free Homeless Clinic,
a Companion Care program, and a Communications team. For more information, please visit our
website at http://santabarbarastreetmedicine.org or email our volunteer coordinator at
volunteer@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org.
DWW-SBSM is looking for compassionate, committed volunteers who want to make a
true difference in the health of our community's underserved.
While we are primarily a medical organization, we also have grant writers, administrative
volunteers, volunteers working on graphics and so on. If you do not find any position that suits
you and would still wish to volunteer with doctors without walls, send an email to
volunteer@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org with any specific ideas.
Please take the next few minutes to review our various volunteer positions and find the
one most suitable for you! Afterwards, please fill out the General Volunteer Application and
email it to applications@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org as PDFs.
Last updated: July 28th, 2015
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General Events Volunteer
General events volunteers are for volunteers who want to be included in our fundraising and
miscellaneous volunteer activities hosted by Doctors Without Walls such as volunteers at our
annual Glow in the Park event. General events volunteers will be added to an email listing and
will be contacted prior to large events to see if they would like to participate.
If you wish to become an administrative volunteer please contact:
volunteer@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org
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PARKS AND STREET TEAMS
Date and Times:
 Pershing Park: Wednesdays 6 - 7:30PM (estimate*)
 Alameda Park: Thursdays 6 - 7:30PM (estimate*)
* Due to the nature of clinics, demand may fluctuate from clinic to clinic and we try to serve as
many patients as possible. Thus, clinics may extend past 7:30PM. Volunteers are expected to
remain at the clinic for the full duration.
Program Requirement:
Volunteers must commit to at least 2 park clinics each month to have active volunteer status for a
minimum of one year.
Program Description:
Doctors Without Walls hosts two park clinics each week. One is at Pershing Park on
Wednesdays and the other is at Alameda Park on Thursdays. We provide volunteer medical care
to the most vulnerable members of our community. Medical professionals including doctors,
physician assistants, and nurse practitioners diagnose and treat patient’s illnesses or refer them to
appropriate clinic resources in the community. Apart from medical professionals, each clinic
requires scribes, vitals, packs, outreach, peacekeeping, and triage volunteers. Another component
to the parks program is the Street Rounds Team, which leaves from Pershing Park on
Wednesdays. The Street Team is a smaller group comprised of a clinician, a scribe, a vitals
volunteer, and a packs volunteer. The mission of the Street Rounds Team is to do outreach as
well as provide medical care for those who are not able come to the park clinic.
Roles within the parks:
 Scribe: using our EMR system, scribes retrieve demographic information and history of
present illness from the patient. Scribes present the patient and relevant clinical information
to the clinician and transcribe clinician given information including physical examination
findings, assessment/diagnosis, and patient plan.
 Vitals: vitals volunteers should have valid certification (EMT, RN, etc.) and have clinical
experience taking vitals. Vital volunteers are responsible for retrieving a patient’s blood
pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, respiration rate, blood glucose level, and
assisting with wound care when appropriate.
 Outreach: The primary objective of outreach volunteers is to spread awareness about the
clinic with people in the parks and establish a relationship between Doctors Without WallsSanta Barbara Street Medicine and our patient population. Outreach volunteers should be
comfortable approaching strangers and have a basic knowledge of local resources for the
homeless population.
 Peacekeepers: The peacekeeper is responsible for observing all clinic and park activities in
order to alert the clinic coordinators to any potentially dangerous situations. The peacekeeper
is expected to calmly assist in deescalating any conflicts at the discretion of the park clinic
coordinators.
 Triage: Triage volunteers are responsible for checking patients into the EMR system,
assessing chief complaints, and distributing hospitality items. Triage volunteers play a
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critical role in the flow of the clinic, directing scribes and patients. This position is open to
mental health clinicians or registered nurses only.
Program positions:
 Scribe
 Vitals
 Outreach
 Peacekeepers
 Triage
available openings: 18
available openings: 3
available openings: 5
available openings: 4
available openings: 4
Program Coordinator(s):
 Summer Beeson
 Ellen Self
contact: parks@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org
contact: parks@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org
Please feel free to contact the program coordinator(s) or our volunteer coordinator if you have
any question about our programs!
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PACKS AND LOGISTICS
Date and Times:
 Pershing Park: Wednesdays 6 - 7:30PM (estimate*)
 Alameda Park: Thursdays 6 - 7:30PM (estimate*)
* Due to the nature of clinics, demand may fluctuate from clinic to clinic and we try to serve as
many patients as possible. Thus, clinics may extend past 7:30PM. Volunteers are expected to
remain at the clinic for the full duration.
Program Requirement:
Volunteers must commit to at least 2 park clinics each month to maintain active volunteer status
for a minimum of one year.
Program Description:
The Packs and Logistics team helps keep the clinics running by managing and
distributing medical supplies. DWW-SBSM uses two large backpacks that are stocked with
medications and equipment for a variety of health needs; it is like a mobile pharmacy. As a Packs
Logistician one would dispense medical supplies, track packs inventory, and be knowledgeable
of the supplies available. There is a constant communication between the packs team members
and the clinicians; Packs Logisticians communicate to the clinicians which supplies are available
so that the clinicians can make the appropriate decisions. There are many medications that we
supply; we want the volunteers to be familiar with their uses, precautions, and mechanisms of
action. It seems like a lot of information to take on but the packs team is enthused to collaborate
and help new members get up to speed. Our team often learns by doing and teaching one
another; we want new volunteers to be part of that.
Program positions:
 Packs Volunteer
available openings: 4
Program Coordinator(s):
 Morris Aguilar
morrisglr@gmail.com
Please feel free to contact the program coordinator(s) or our volunteer coordinator if you have
any question about our programs!
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COMPANION CARE (CC)
Date and Times:
-IV Dinner: Mondays 5-6 PM
-Rescue Mission: Mondays 6-7 PM
-Pershing Park: Wednesdays 5:50-7 PM
-Alameda Park: Thursdays 5:50-7 PM
-Womens’s Free Homeless Clinic: Every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Friday of the month, 9:00 3:00PM
Shifts: 9:00 - 12:00PM and 12:00 - 3:00PM
Program Requirement:
Volunteers are required to attend a minimum of two events (dinners or missions) every month
for a minimum of one year. There is no maximum.
Program Description:
One of a kind volunteer opportunity to work with underserved populations in Santa
Barbara. Companion Care is a Doctors Without Walls, Santa Barbara Street Medicine (DWWSBSM) program that works to increase access to healthcare for the local underserved
populations. We are a student-run volunteer team that effectively serves as a type of case
management that “connects the dots” between valuable medical services and the most vulnerable
homeless individuals. We work to help patients develop a medical care plan and navigate the
healthcare system by assisting with scheduling appointments, helping with transportation,
accompanying patients to local medical services, and advocating for patients during their
appointment. Unlike other organizations, Companion Care goes and meets our friends where
they are: on the streets. The people we serve do not come to us; we go to them.
As a Companion Care volunteer, you will have the unique opportunity to see our
healthcare system through the eyes of an underserved individual. Traveling alongside our
patients on their journey towards health, you will work with many different professionals and
gain valuable insight into health care. Perhaps more importantly, you will grow to understand the
obstacles faced by marginalized populations and be able to make a difference in an individual’s
life. Instead of being an observer to the repercussions of healthcare inequity, you can actively
contribute to a solution!
Companion Care is looking for qualified volunteers that can dedicate an average of about
4 hours a week. Due to the nature of companioning, we need volunteers that can commit large
blocks of time on weekdays (approximately 3-4 hours at a time).
Program positions:
 Companion Care Volunteer
available openings: 10
Program Coordinator(s):
 Doug Martin
 Nicole Pham
 General Email:
contact: douglas@martinhome.net
contact: mia_pham93@yahoo.com
companioncare@santabarbarastreetmedicine.org
Please feel free to contact the program coordinator(s) or our volunteer coordinator if you have
any question about our programs!
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WOMEN’S FREE HOMELESS CLINIC (WFHC)
Date and Times:
 Every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Friday of the month, 9:00 - 3:00PM
 Shifts: 9:00 - 12:00PM
12:00 - 3:00PM
Program Requirement:
Volunteers must commit to at least 2 shifts (6 hours) every month in order to maintain active
volunteer status for a minimum of one year. Due to the nature of this program, volunteers must
be female.
Program Description:
As volunteers at the Women’s Free Homeless clinic, we work with a team of volunteers,
doctors, nurses, and acupuncturists to provide a place for homeless to feel safe and
valued. Volunteer responsibilities include doing women’s laundry while they take private
showers and are served a healthy breakfast/lunch. We set up the clinic, which includes preparing
and stocking medical rooms, hygiene station, and clothing donation tables. We are encouraged
to eat lunch with the women, and build lasting relationships and trust. If you have been trained
as a scribe, you will be able to assist the clinicians in entering patient information, complaints,
and assessments into the electronic medical record. As a general volunteer, you will learn how
to relate and empathize with homeless clients. You should be able manage hectic environments,
deal with stress in a healthy manor, and know how to de-escalate conflicts that arise in the
clinic.
Program positions:
 WFHC Volunteer
available openings: 12
Program Coordinator(s):
 Katie Dye
 Jade Miller
contact: katiendye@gmail.com
contact: jade_am0601@yahoo.com
Please feel free to contact the program coordinator(s) or our volunteer coordinator if you have
any question about our programs!
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