10 January 2023

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Dugoni School of Dentistry volunteers at Project Homeless Connect

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For the first time since the start of the pandemic, students and faculty from University of the Pacific’s Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry recently returned to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to participate in San Francisco’s Project Homeless Connect, resuming a tradition going back to 2008.

The outreach event — Project Homeless Connect’s 77th — took place in mid-December 2022.

Throughout the day, volunteers cared for several dozen homeless individuals who received free dental screenings and basic oral health care, according to a news release.

Launched in 2004, Project Homeless Connect is a city-supported program which has typically taken place at various locations in San Francisco several times each year. It serves San Francisco’s homeless by offering free medical and dental care, mental health services, haircuts, employment, legal counseling, food and a variety of other services. Project Homeless Connect partners with city leaders, community-based organizations, and volunteers from across the Bay Area to bring essential and otherwise hard-to-access services to people living on the streets.

The team of 10 Dugoni School volunteers included members of the Student Community Outreach for Public Education (SCOPE) organization and two faculty members.

SCOPE is a peer mentor, student-run volunteer community oral health promotion organization at the dental school. The group’s mission is to develop dental professionals committed to best practices in community-based oral health projects for underserved people. 

Associate Professor Christine Miller, director of community health programs said it was rewarding to see students engaging in a unique community oral health program with long-standing collaborators at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco Dental Society and Project Homeless Connect. She and dental student Cooper Giesen (DDS 2024) helped organize the volunteers.

Dental services are among the most requested services by Project Homeless Connect attendees, reflecting the great need for oral health care among people experiencing homelessness.

Learn more at: https://dental.pacific.edu/pacific-newsroom/dugoni-school-volunteers-care-san-franciscos-underserved-project-homeless-connect