H1N1 Vaccine is Here!

First things first:

H1N1 vaccine is available for all UCSB students 24 years old or younger. Limited supply — first come first served. The cost of the vaccine is $10.00 billed to BA/RC.

Tuesday, 11/24 10am – 4pm – Student Health – please enter the building on the parking lot side (lot #25).

In addition, we will continue our regularly scheduled flu shot clinics (Student Health classrooms 1 & 2, Tues 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. and Friday 1:30-3:30 p.m.) for both seasonal and H1N1 flu as long as our supplies last. Please continue to check our website for updated times to get your flu vaccinations.

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Friday night St. Mark’s and Community Affairs Board volunteers had an Isla Vista Thanksgiving homeless dinner. We had about 50 volunteers, most of whom were students. It was a huge success. It was great to see so many people willing to give their time and energy to provide a home cooked meal to those who do not have a home.

After everyone got seconds, I grabbed a plate sat with my family. Two familiar faces were at the table, Pirate and Jessie. Jessie told me, “You see this hat? If you see this hat without me, I’m either in jail or dead.”

I was holding my seven years old daughter on my lap. Jessie looked at her, his eyes softening, and asked, “What’s your name?” She shyly said, “Cami.”

“What?! Sammie?”

“No, CAMI!” she smiled.

He laughed and smiled at her. She smiled back at him. Then he told her to cover her ears. He leaned forward and said to me, “If you see this hat without me, I’m either in jail or dead.”

“I hope I never see you without that hat,” I told him.

Later on – clearly in a more thoughtful mode than he had originally presented himself – Jessie told my partner he married a woman with kids. “And I loved those children. I loved them. I haven’t talked to them in years. But I loved them.” His eyes looked away into a place in his past.

People are people. The homeless sometimes have a combination of problems: substance abuse, mental health issues, the struggles that come with living without shelter, some poor decisions and some bad luck. But just like us, they have dreams, hopes, fears, and hurts and loves. I am grateful for moments like this where the community comes together and treated them with dignity and food.

Thank you all for reading this health blog this quarter. A special thanks to Nathan, the editor of this blog. And thanks to my team at Student Health (Betsy, Jamie, Tamzen, Joanna, Mark, Dr. Ferris, Dr. Downing, and Sabina) and my partner, Cheryl, for giving me feedback on what I write.

Have a great Thanksgiving Break and good luck on finishing this quarter with excellence.
Michael Takahara is a health educator at Student Health. Post your comments, suggestions, and questions here or e-mail Michael.takahara@sa.ucsb.edu, Facebook, or Tweet him.