USMO Crowdfunding

Thanks to your support, we have reached our initial goal of $1000! We now have a new goal of $2000! We're hoping to keep the momentum going, and we encourage you all to help us to so!

Undergraduate Street Medicine Outreach (USMO)’s primary focus is to perform outreach within secluded homeless encampments in the Berkeley area and facilitate a community of trust by fostering relationships between clients and ourselves. We strive to help the unhoused overcome the physical and social barriers to fundamental services, such as healthcare access, by informing clients about available resources and facilitating transportation to and from these services. We also have established cellular services within encampments, which is vital to mitigating barriers to health and emergency resources. In addition to breaking down physical barriers homeless individuals face, we actively destigmatize discussions surrounding these communities by informing, educating, and advocating via university resources. 

The money for our project will aid in providing the unhoused population with medical and hygiene kits and funding our transportation to encampments via Zipcar. Just recently (as of this week), there was a bacterial infection outbreak at one of the main encampments we visit, 8th and Harrison. Now, more than ever, it will be essential for our encampment residents to get access to medical and hygiene kits to further prevent spread of infection. 

Zipcar has also been an important part of our project– as our organization has been facing transportation issues for the past year due to having a surplus of members and a shortage of cars. It would be extremely labor-intensive and inconvenient to use public transportation instead of a car, as we have to carry many heavy boxes of food and supplies to each encampment. Thus, Zipcar is helpful for providing us with the transportation we need to help out our friends at the encampments. 

USMO is an organization that deeply cares about providing resources for unhoused communities throughout the Bay Area. By supporting our organization, donors would help us better serve these communities through access to Zipcars for reliable transportation and the funding necessary to assemble medical and hygiene kits that promote the health of unhoused populations.

All estimates are rough only, and actual expenditures may vary.

We plan on using our funds for making hygiene kits- which consist of hand sanitizers, toilet paper, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. We also plan to allocate a large amount of funds to Zipcar for transportation needs. If we are not able to reach our full fundraising goal, we will adjust by purchasing fewer items and smaller quantities overall, prioritizing the most essential supplies first. Even with reduced funding, we will continue visiting encampments weekly and providing as many resources as possible to support the unhoused population.

Keep up with us on Instagram @ucb_usmo and watch our efforts to serve our community or message us to get involved! Thanks for your support and Go Bears!