About Oakland Free Clinic
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Oakland Free Clinic is a free herbal medicine clinic operating out of a mobile trailer on the streets of Oakland, CA. We offer free basic check-ups and herbal medicine, and strive to use locally abundant, wildcrafted herbs whenever possible. We utilize a non-judgmental approach to harm reduction with an understanding of how intersecting privileges and oppressions manifest in physical and mental diseases that may be mediated by herbal remedies. We alternate between several different neighborhoods in Oakland, attempting to challenge issues of inaccessibility to herbal medicine. We look forward to meeting you!
WEST OAKLAND @ 23rd & Brush: Mondays, Noon-3pm
LOWER BOTTOMS @ 7th & Campbell: Tuesdays, Noon-3pm
NORTH OAKLAND @ Phat Beets Market: Saturdays, Noon-3pm
Jamie Menzel is a community herbalist from the Northwest who started this project out of a desire to increase herbalism\\'s relevance in crisis situations. She\\'s been interested in herbs and wildcrafting for a long time, and is primarily focused on harm reduction and acknowledging racial and other health disparities due to trauma experienced because of race, sex, class, and gender presentation. She is explicitly interested in working with homeless and under-served people who\\'ve historically been offered little to no access to holistic healthcare.
Jamie studied herbalism at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, the Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies in Portland, Oregon, and the Columbines School of Botanical Studies in Eugene, Oregon. Beyond botany and herbalism, Jamie has also studied anatomy and physiology, as well as physical assessment skills for the clinical herbalist with renowned herbalist Howie Brounstein. She was the Executive Director of a non-profit in Seattle called AHAC, the Alternative Healthcare Access Campaign, which served to bring alternative healthcare to various homeless shelters and encampments around the city. Before AHAC, Jamie also volunteered at a homeless drop-in center in Olympia, Washington, where she first gained insight into the dangerous gaps in our western medical system, felt most acutely by those already burdened by poverty and other forms of oppression. Since moving to Oakland, California, Jamie has taken classes with both Charles Garcia and Joshua Muskat, further honing her clinical intake and street-level herbal skills, and she is a current volunteer at the Street-Level Health Project with Michelle Steinberg.
Since this is a sliding fee scale clinic, we have provided the Federal Poverty Guidelines below. Visit the Oakland Free Clinic website listed above to see what the level is needed for free care.
Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2023
| Persons In Family Household | Poverty Guideline Salary per year |
|---|
| 1 | $14,580 |
| 2 | $19,720 |
| 3 | $24,860 |
| 4 | $30,000 |
| 5 | $35,140 |
| 6 | $40,280 |
| 7 | $45,420 |
| 8 | $50,560 |
For Households with more than 8 persons, add $4,480 for each additional person.
*Alaska and Hawaii have different rates for HUD federal poverty guidelines.
These numbers above represent 100% of the Federal Poverty Rate. In order to get reduced or free services from some clinics, they use a sliding fee scale based on your income.When they use a sliding fee scale, the 100% rate can be different than 100%. In those cases, using for example a 200% federal poverty level, you will only need double the 100% number listed above to 200%.
