Health Leads

Health Leads is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes undergraduate volunteers to provide high-impact services to low-income families and, in the process, transform our health care system into one that is more effective and just. Its on-campus office is located at Sargent College, enabling students to easily conduct follow-up client work.

Boston University students staff programs at Boston Medical Center’s Pediatrics outpatient clinic, as well as at the Dimock Center in Roxbury. Students work within the health care system to screen families for the nonmedical needs that affect their health—things like food, housing, child care, and employment—and then connect them with social services and community resources to help meet those needs.

Each advocate is assigned one or two shifts a week in a particular clinic. In addition, advocates also participate in follow-up work, reflection sessions, and program development, committing to a minimum of six to eight hours a week. Health Leads accepts applications for new volunteers each semester and also runs a fellowship program in the summer.

This volunteer experience can be invaluable for students as they prepare to enter the health care professions.

Watch a short video about the Health Leads experience here.