What is Street Medics Austin?
Street Medics Austin, or SMA, is a 501(c)(3) organization, run entirely by volunteers, dedicated to providing community aid through free on the ground event support, emergency response and first aid classes, free medical assistance for the unhoused population in Austin, Texas.
What are street medics? What is street medicine?
The terms “street medic” and “street medicine” are generally understood to have originated from the 1960s civil rights movements, referring to a group of volunteers with varying levels of medical training who provide free first aid to protests and other demonstrations in the community. The terms may also be used to describe the practice of providing medical care to people experiencing homelessness and/or living in poverty in areas where hospitals and clinics are not accessible. Here at Street Medics Austin, we provide services that align with both of these understandings of the terms, as well as training on a variety of different first aid skills.
Why do you call yourselves “medics” when you’re not actually “medics?”
The term “street medic” has specific meaning originating from the 1960s civil rights movements, referring to groups of volunteers who believed that first-aid is a form of defense, and that anyone could be trained to provide basic care. While we are not (nor do we pretend to) be professional medics, we do fall under the term “street medics,” and act under Good Samaritan laws as such.
Aren’t y’all just a bunch of army medic wannabe/LARPers?
We try not to be, although many of our volunteers are ex-military medics. We definitely don’t see ourselves as a replacement to professional or state-run medical services. We have strict ethical and conduct guidelines about staying within scope of training, and for calling EMS. We communicate closely with Austin EMS to ensure that we are always adding value to the service they provide.
Why don’t y’all just leave this stuff to the professionals?
The situations we operate in are typically very difficult for traditional EMS to serve. We are able to walk within a protest and provide first aid very rapidly. Often protests or civil action situations are cordoned off, or in areas inaccessible to emergency vehicles. We are able to triage, treat/stabilise and transport an injured person to an area where they can be treated by EMS. Additionally, we provide a range of harm reduction techniques not provided by traditional EMS, such as providing free snacks, water, and sunscreen, as well as free first aid training and outreach to the Austin unhoused population.
Are y’all just a bunch of anarchists/commies/leftists/radicals/ANTIFA/etc?
No idea, maybe some of us are. When we bring a volunteer into the organisation, we don’t ask questions about philosophical or political beliefs. We only care about positive intent, level of expertise, and adherence to our strict neutrality policy and our code of ethics and conduct.
You say that SMA is neutral, but are you REALLY neutral?
This is really a core tenet of SMA. We have decided to be strictly neutral because our overarching goal is to offer first aid and harm reduction to people who are in situations where traditional state-run medical services struggle to operate. We have been able to be extremely successful in this goal precisely because we act neutrally, and try to operate within the confines of the law.
Are y’all a 501(c)(3) organization?
YES! We’re registered in Texas as a nonprofit corporation and have obtained 501(c)(3) exemption. So your donations are tax-deductible!