Freedom Community Clinic
Organization Details
Freedom Community Clinic provides community-centered healing for the people’s bodies, minds, and souls. We integrate and value ancestral, Indigenous, and holistic healing with the strengths of Western medicine. All services are offered for free and/or at community scale to underserved communities in the Bay Area and beyond.
Impact Story
As the daughter of Filipino and Toisanese immigrants, I am a community activist and the first in my family to become a doctor. Growing up, my mom's immigrant background proved challenging, especially in healthcare encounters. My mom was born in the Philippines, and with the barriers of language and medical jargon, my mom experienced her own trauma within the current medical system. Moments from my childhood manifest this clearly: I clearly remember my family's despair for not knowing why my mom had to undergo an immediate hysterectomy. My mom coming home fatigued after working as a cashier at the Los Angeles County Jail. And I remember piles of medical bills for cervical procedures, and unanswered voicemails for mammogram check-ups going unanswered – all culminating in my mom’s refusal to go to the doctor ever again. As I grew up, I saw that my mother- like many Black, Brown and immigrant women- found healing through ancestral forms of healing modalities including acupuncture, spiritual counseling, and community healing groups.
Freedom Community Clinic (FCC) is an Oakland-rooted grassroots initiative that imagines and works towards a Healing Feature by uplifting community-centered healing for the bodies, minds, and souls of underserved communities. Since its beginnings, FCC has served 2,600+ people and held 60+ healing programs including but not limited to: (1) virtual and in-person community healing clinics, (2) community health trainings/workshops, (3) community healing groups, (5) individual referrals for healing services. Our community healing offerings uphold a framework of whole-person care integrating the strengths of ancestral, Indigenous, and traditional healing with the strengths of Western medicine. We provide a range of services including primary care check-ups, herbal medicine, massage therapy, acupuncture, Indigenous energy cleansing (Reiki, limipia, etc.), napping/resting spaces, psychotherapy, chiropractic care, Qi Gong, yoga/meditation, and more.
