2024 Impact Report
In the early months of this new year, in response to oppressive federal immigration policy, Botanical Bus birthed an action plan that carries our fierce intention to provide healthcare services in our immigrant communities that feel like a warm embrace.
We are prepared. We know our rights. And we are working together across sectors to increase access to healthcare, reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes so that Latine and Indigenous immigrants experience radical belonging and healing justice.
As the Botanical Bus mobile clinic returns to the field for our 5th year of service (and an upcoming 100th clinic), I invite you to review our 2024 Impact Report.
We call on you to stand in solidarity with our immigrant communities! Today more than 73,000 people living in Sonoma County identify as immigrants, nearly 2/3 of whom are from Latin America. Immigrants bring vitality to our community. They also face oppression in the form of racism, residential segregation and barriers to accessing critical health and human services.
Botanical Bus mobile clinic overcomes these barriers, to provide place based, culturally centered, collaborative healthcare. In 2024, the Botanical Bus provided 3,066 direct healthcare services to 1,213 clients through 27 mobile clinic events and an additional 80 wellness workshops.
We learned that 72% of Botanical Bus clients experience high levels of physical pain and 20% mental health challenges that disrupt their everyday activities. We also learned that 19% of Botanical Bus clients are without access to established primary healthcare. Among these clients, 51% face this barrier due to language issues, 40% due to lack of trust, and 23% due to limited transportation. We know that Botanical Bus clients choose healthcare that honors their culture, identity and healing traditions.
One Botanical Bus client shares, “Gracias por mi apapacho. Tu gran ayuda me ha abierto el pecho. Puedo tomar un gran respiro. Gracias por ayudarme a encontrar en qué debo enfocarme. [Thank you for your embrace. Your great help has opened my chest. I can take a deep breath. Thank you for helping me find what I need to focus on.]”
What’s next? In 2025, we will provide 3,120 direct healthcare services to 1,339 clients through 31 mobile clinic events and an additional 74 wellness workshops organized in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Guerneville and NEW community hub sites in Point Reyes and Bolinas. Join us to stand for transformation of healthcare systems through popular education, cultural organizing and self-healing communities. Together we realize our power to care for ourselves in community and in connection to the earth!
In solidarity,
Jocelyn Boreta
Founding Director
Botanical Bus: Bilingual Mobile Herb Clinic