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but because“ it allows us to give them a checkup for other things” too.
Students and professors involved with the Willow Clinic volunteer their day to give medical care to veteran and homeless clients. The objective of the clinic is to specifically target the health of the homeless population of Sacramento while providing a unique opportunity for graduate and undergraduate education. It’ s a mission that lines up well with the Dr. Hunter Foundation’ s own goals, Hunter says. In the U. S., about 11 percent of the homeless adult population are veterans, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Of that group, more than half has disabilities. California has the largest veteran population
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in the nation, at approximately 1.7 million— or 4 percent of the state. Last year, Sacramento Steps Forward reported there were 313 homeless veterans in Sacramento County alone.
“ A lot of vets aren’ t comfortable with being seen in the VA system,” Hunter says.“ A lot, quite frankly, don’ t have trust in the VA system. They see in our group a lot of happy, enthusiastic students who want to help them.”
Shuttles from the Salvation Army building on B Street in downtown Sacramento run between the two locations all day. Clients can come in for a quick check up, or in-depth medical care for a specific ailment and are seen first by a student who then runs the information back to their professors in
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another room where they consult and discuss treatment. The Willow Clinic is typically open every Saturday from 8:30 a. m. to 12:00 p. m. at Sacramento’ s Salvation Army, but they join forces with the Dr. Hunter Foundation usually twice a year— on Veterans Day and on Memorial Day to help provide a special clinic.
Part of the appeal for the veteran and homeless clients, surely, is the chance to feel like their needs matter, and the Veterans Day clinic is unique among its kind, Hunter says:“ There are a lot of recognition events [ on Veterans Day ],” he says,“ We’ re actually the only event that does recognition, but provides services.”•
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VETERANS |