Volunteer · St. Louis nonprofit
Volunteer
Volunteers fill clinical roles for licensed practitioners and non-clinical roles that need no medical background, from driving patients to appointments to prairie maintenance days. To start, email info@valormedica.org with what you would like to do and roughly how much time you have.
Some of this needs a license. Most of it needs someone reliable who will keep turning up.
Clinical roles
For licensed practitioners — physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, counselors, social workers, pharmacists.
- Assessment and treatment sessions
- Street outreach with the teams
- Counseling and group facilitation
- Medication review
Current licensure and credentialing verification required.
Non-clinical roles
No medical background needed.
- Prairie maintenance days alongside the trainees
- Transport — driving patients to appointments, which is our single biggest practical gap
- Supply sorting and drive coordination
- Administrative help and data entry
- Skills-based help: legal, accounting, trades, IT
What do you ask of volunteers?
Consistency over intensity. A volunteer who comes monthly for two years is worth far more to this population than a large one-time group day — because the people we serve have had a great many one-time interventions and very little continuity.
- A background check for any role with patient contact
- Confidentiality training, and adherence to it
- A commitment you can actually keep, however small
What we ask you not to do
- Do not photograph patients or people encountered on outreach
- Do not post the location of anyone sleeping outside
- Do not give clinical advice outside your scope, however well meant
- Do not promise anything on our behalf — a broken promise costs a patient more here than no promise at all
How do I start volunteering?
Email info@valormedica.org with what you would like to do and roughly how much time you have. For prairie and outreach days, tell us which weekends work.
Cannot volunteer right now?
A monthly gift does something a volunteer day cannot — it funds the continuity this work depends on.
Where are volunteers most needed?
- Outreach support — carrying supplies, logistics, and being a second person on a team.
- Prairie restoration work, seasonally, with no experience required.
- Administrative and documentation help, which is less visible and unlocks more care than most clinical volunteering.
- Skilled trades and vehicle maintenance.
- Licensed clinicians willing to take a shift.
Do volunteers need a background check?
Reliability over intensity. A person who turns up monthly for a year is worth considerably more than a large group once. For anything involving direct contact with residents or outreach, we require a background check and a short orientation, which exists to protect the people we serve rather than to screen you.
What volunteering here is not
It is not an opportunity to photograph people at their lowest point, and it is not a way to preach. Residents and people met on outreach are not an audience. If that is a problem, this is not the right place to volunteer, and it is better to know that now.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find volunteer opportunities in St. Louis?
At Valor Medica, start by emailing info@valormedica.org with what you would like to do and roughly how much time you have. For prairie and outreach days, tell us which weekends work. Roles with patient contact need a background check, confidentiality training and a short orientation, which exists to protect the people we serve rather than to screen you.
What volunteer opportunities are available?
Licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, counselors, social workers and pharmacists can take assessment and treatment sessions, street outreach, counseling and group facilitation, or medication review. No medical background is needed for prairie maintenance days, driving patients to appointments, supply sorting, administrative help and data entry, or skilled help with legal, accounting, trades and IT work.
Are there group volunteer opportunities?
A large one-time group day is not where we need help most. We ask for consistency over intensity. A person who turns up monthly for a year is worth considerably more to this population than a large group once, because the people we serve have had a great many one-time interventions and very little continuity. The best fit is a commitment you can actually keep, however small, repeated over time.