Volunteering with the Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC)

• 

The Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) is a student-led interdisciplinary organization that provides free comprehensive health care and social needs supports to uninsured and lower income communities. During clinic, patients are either at SHAC to address an acute medical need or will be a Bridge to Care (BTC) patient with a chronic medical need and may not be connected to a primary care physician. Social work students are responsible for collaborating with students from the health disciplines to conduct psychosocial assessment and refer patients to community networks. Each team consist of a Medical Team Junior (a 1^st year or 2^nd year medical student), a Medical Team Senior (a 3^rd or 4^th year medical student) and a pharmacy student. Social work students work closely with Social Needs Navigators (SNN’s) to provide patients with a psychosocial assessment. The psychosocial assessment examines the patient’s economic stability and basic social and mental health needs. The assessment includes questions about food security, continuous and stable housing, personal and communal safety as well as goes through a brief PHQ9 follow up with a process to connect individuals with the best places in the community to meet their needs.

SHAC takes place every Wednesday from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm at the Carborro Community Health Center at 301 Lloyd St, Carrboro, NC 27510. All MSW students are eligible to serve as a Social Work Coordinator or as one of the Social Work Directors. Social Work Coordinators are required to volunteer two Wednesday evening shifts during per semester (a minimum of four times during the academic year). Social Work Directors are responsible for recruiting volunteers, managing volunteer schedules, volunteering with SHAC at least once per month, and attending IPEP Committee meetings as necessary. Social Work Coordinators are recruited on a continuous basis. The application to be a Social Work Director will go live in the beginning of each Spring semester.

Individuals that volunteer with SHAC:

• Are eligible to be a part of the IPEP Scholars Program
• Collaborate with other UNC Graduate students
• Gain firsthand experience as a social work student in a medical setting
• Learn new micro and macro skills, tools, and best practices
• Volunteer with one of the nation’s oldest student-led medical clinic

For more information about SHAC, visit https://www.med.unc.edu/shac/. To get involved and start volunteering with SHAC email shac_socialwork@med.unc.edu or  shacsw@gmail.com.