Wellness Initiative

We are a student organization that has recognized the need for mental health services in the low-income and homeless populations of Alameda County. With 20-25% of our clientele being diagnosed as mentally ill and over 50% of the people on the streets of Berkeley becoming deinstitutionalized mentally ill patients, there is a clear need for services that help alleviate these problems. We plan to offer free counseling services and weekly workshops to help empower our clients.

Project mission:

To provide free, quality counseling and psychiatric and mental health promotion services to the homeless and low-income population of Alameda County. Through the collaboration of mental health professionals and students from various disciplines, we will deliver holistic care that empowers and educates clients rather than just mitigating their symptoms.

Potential impact:

Through our initiative, we will provide access to care for the underserved in an innovative and creative method. We will create collaborations between agencies and organizations which will enable us to treat the problem of mental illness more effectively and comprehensively. Our goal is to be a referral entity for other agencies in order to see an optimal number of clients and to collectively improve the lives of the clientele.

Required resources:

1. Total project needs: $10,000
2. Other:

   1) Collaborations with organizations that are involved in art, poetry, or any other forms of workshops. It would we wonderful if others can help lead these sessions for our clients to foster a support group.

   2) Collaborations with psychiatrists so we can eventually start prescribing medicines and provide direct mental health services.

   3) Need to spread the word about our resources to increase accessibility to health care services.

Links to other projects by the same organization:

• suitcaseclinic.org