La Clinica de La Raza
Some communities lack the resources, infrastructure, and clout they need to thrive. This can deprive youth and families of basic health and well-being simply because of where they live. So when La Clínica de La Raza recognized the need for a behavioral health program at their Oakley clinic and for a school-based health center at an Oakland middle school, Vesper Society supported the efforts.
La Clínica Oakley opened in December 2011, as a 20-hour per week “satellite” health center to serve East Contra Costa County residents who lack access to affordable medical care. With support from Vesper Society, La Clínica Oakley hired its first behavioral health clinician. The clinician provides crisis intervention, assessments, and brief treatment to clients and their families. Patients can receive referrals to community resources, and Spanish-speaking patients can attend group visits for anxiety and depression. Partially as a result of La Clínica Oakley’s extended services, they now operate full time!
In East Oakland, many students have a disproportionate risk of community violence exposure and experience multiple stressors, all of which contribute to anxiety, depression, and unhealthy coping behaviors. Forty-four percent of students report violence in their school by grade seven, 28 percent of students report feeling hopeless, and 19 percent report considering suicide in the past year. With support from Vesper Society, La Clínica is expanding its capacity to provide behavioral health services to students in East Oakland at the Havenscourt Health Center (HHC), a school-based health center that serves students at two public middle and high schools. The new services will include assessments, brief treatment, counseling, case management, and group sessions at no cost to students or families.
La Clínica de La Raza’s mission is to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities they serve by providing culturally appropriate, high-quality, and accessible health care for all. Vesper Society’s support helped La Clínica introduce much-needed behavioral health services that enable them to improve the situations of their communities.
Click here to read the five year evaluation of La Clínica’s Behavioral Health Integration program.