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California Islamic Free Medical Clinic Facing Closure
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - A Muslim run free medical clinic, the only free clinic in South-Central Los Angeles, is facing closure unless enough funds are obtained to keep it afloat.
The University Muslim Medical Association (UMMA) Clinic was founded by a group of activist Muslim students in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots with a goal to serve humanity following the Qur’anic injunctions of charity to all.
The clinic now sees 75 patients weekly and has regular family doctors for over 5,000 individuals who have logged over 12,000 visits.
The clinic serves an impoverished, but culturally diverse population comprised of 51% Hispanics and 43% African-Americans.
Included in the clinic's services is adult family medicine, pediatrics, free HIV testing, ophthalmology, gynecology, an on-site lab facility and direct referrals to local county medical facilities. The Clinic also provides legal and social assistance when needed.
The founders of the clinic originally thought of operating a medical trailer but later received a standing clinic thanks to the good offices of L.A. City Councilwoman Rita Walters who helped them obtain a $700,000 grant from federal housing authorities.
The grant was used to renovate an abandoned auto repair shop that now houses the clinic. The city also gave an operating two-year grant of $680,000, which the clinic managed to stretch out over four years.
The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) also agreed to make it a teaching clinic, and now sends dozens of medical students to volunteer as part of their training.
But the funding for the clinic has since run out and the UMMA has now sent a emergency appeal to all Muslims to contribute generously to it.
The UMMA is also held a fund raising event Saturday where Hamza Yousuf and Imam Siraj Wahaj were confirmed speakers. It needs $240,000 to remain open for another year.
According to UMMA founders, many mosque leaders initially declined to support them, but the clinic’s successes and the maturation of the community has made many of them pledge their support in recent weeks.
Clinic director and co-founder Yasser Aman told the L.A. Times, "This is a wake-up call to the Muslim establishment that we need to look beyond our own mosques and schools."
The success or the failure of the UMMA clinic will ultimately expose how far the community is willing to follow the Prophetic (saw) example of helping neighbors, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, Aman asserted.
As Teresa Watanabe of the L.A. Times rightly said, "The response will measure how far this fast-growing faith community has come in extending Islamic charity not only overseas but also to the needy in its own backyard."
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