The Suitcase Clinic

The Death of Kelly Thomas

Aileen — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:45:51 +0000

On July 5, 2011, a mentally ill homeless man named Kelly Thomas was beaten into a coma at a bus depot in Fullerton, CA. Police officer Manuel Ramos first approached Thomas, known to be nonviolent, after receiving reports of car vandalism in the area. While Ramos ordered Thomas around, another police officer searched through his bags but was unable to find any incriminating evidence. Thomas was slow to comply to Ramos’ orders at first, so the police officer began beating him. He was later joined by more police officers, some of whom clubbed him with a baton while another shocked him with a taser multiple times. Thomas was in a coma before he even arrived at the hospital. The decision was made to remove his life support five days later and Kelly Thomas succumbed to his injuries on July 10, 2011.

A more comprehensive report of the incident that led to Kelly Thomas’ death can be found here: http://www.pixiq.com/article/power-of-social-media. For those who are interested (caution: the footage is graphic), the surveillance camera along with audio from the policemen’s microphone can be seen/heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU0Imk2Bstg.

Beyond the tragedy of the situation, it is frightening to think of the threat that police brutality can pose particularly to the marginalized in our society. While there are certainly many good police officers that work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our population on a regular basis, from time to time incidents such as these do arise. What I think concerns me most about this is how so many of our clients could be potential Kelly Thomases on any given night. Even more scary is the fact that this incident occurred nearly a year ago, and is only beginning to garner wider media attention now. It is times like this that I really appreciate the work of Osha Neumann, an active advocate for the legal rights of the under-served in the East Bay and longtime friend of the Suitcase Clinic.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Get Involved: Volunteer Training (Summer 2012)

Josh Lee — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:12:42 +0000

The Suitcase Clinic summer training is just around the corner! Summer training will provide you with the basic skills you need to become a successful volunteer at one of our three clinics.

Our summer training will take place from 10AM to 4PM on the weekends of June 2-3 and June 9-10. Admission into the training is by application. Download the application here: 2012 Summer Class Application. Applications are due May 18 by 11:59PM to class@suitcaseclinic.org, and applicants will be notified by the 20th.

If you would like more information about the Suitcase Clinic, the class, or the application, don’t hesitate to email class@suitcaseclinic.org. We look forward to seeing your application!

General and Women’s Clinic Closed During Spring Break

Paulina — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:35:07 +0000

General Clinic will be closed on March 27th for Spring Break. Clinic will resume on Tuesday, April 3rd.

Women’s Clinic will also be closed on March 26th for Spring Break. Women’s Clinic will resume on Monday, April 2nd.

However, Youth Clinic will be open on Monday, March 26th!

Please check the calendar for upcoming services. Have a great day!

Sincere Act of Charity or Publicity Stunt?

Aileen — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:17:45 +0000

BBH Labs is an organization that is piloting a Homeless Hotspot program in the Austin area wherein homeless people are given Verizon Wifi hotspot devices and serve as moving digital Wifi connection spots around the city. Users can access the internet through these Homeless Hotspots by paying a small fee. BBH is publicizing this project as a way for the homeless to earn income on the side. Is this really a sincere act of charity though? Or is it rather an act of publicity? You be the judge: original article.

Former NJ Governor Goes Undercover To Experience Homelessness for a Night

Aileen — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:49:04 +0000

This is an interesting article about how a former New Jersey governor voluntarily decided to don a disguise and experience what it was like to be homeless for a night: http://news.yahoo.com/former-jersey-governor-goes-undercover-homeless-man-023749042.html. It seems nice that someone of privilege is opting to learn firsthand what many of our clients experience on a nightly basis, but I do wonder whether it will produce any real change. Thoughts?

February 2012 Newsletter

Josh Lee — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:53:21 +0000

The February 2012 newsletter is now available. Read about the new and improved Suitcase Clinic class (HMS 98/198), a movement to quantitatively measure Suitcase Clinic’s community impact, and more! You can download the latest issue of our newsletter here.

All newsletters are available on the Publications page. Enjoy!

Spring 2012 Semester

Josh Lee — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:53:49 +0000

UPDATE: application is now available in Word Doc (updated 1/22/12) format or PDF (updated 1/22/12).

UPDATE 2: the time and location of the first info session has changed.

Thanks for your interest in joining the Suitcase Clinic! Each semester we recruit new volunteers to serve the underserved and promote social justice in our community. If you would like to learn more about joining the Suitcase Clinic, please attend one of our Info Sessions on Tuesday, January 24 from 5-6pm in B100 Blum and Thursday, January 26 from 5-6pm in 182 Dwinelle. You can also email us at “class [AT] suitcaseclinic.org”.

New volunteers take a 2-unit service learning course (HMS 98/198) that discusses the problem of homelessness and how students can become effective caseworkers for homeless clients. Our Spring 2012 class will be held Thursdays from 5-7pm in 182 Dwinelle. Class begins on February 2.

In order to apply to the Suitcase Clinic, you must complete the following requirements:

Complete a written application (Word Doc or PDF) and submit it to 570 University Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 1st by 4:30pm.
Attend a Clinic Tour. Clinic Tours are Monday January 30 at 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30, and 8:30pm and Tuesday January 31 at 7, 7:30, and 8pm. All clinic tours depart from the RSF main entrance.
Complete an in-person interview. Interviews last 10 minutes and are held immediately following the Info Sessions and during the Clinic Tour times.

Applicants will be informed of our admission decisions by Thursday, February 2, at 12pm. If you have added yourself to the waitlist on Telebears, please remove yourself. Students selected for the course will be given a course entry code.

Thank you for your interest in working with the marginalized. We look forward to seeing you soon!

RIP People’s Park

Aileen — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:46:49 +0000

I happened to come across this article online today and was frankly so shocked by it that I had to share it with everyone. In the name of “sanitation,” the university has ordered part of People’s Park to be bulldozed. Trees planted back during the free speech movement of the 1970′s were uprooted. Besides sanitation, another incentive for this action will most likely be to ensure that the students of the new housing units (currently under construction) will have better views.

Many of our clients live in People’s Park. For the university to destroy the place that many people call home is callous and inconsiderate. According to the article, part of the destroyed area included the garden that was maintained by people in the park.

Any thoughts on the matter?

UC Berkeley Bulldozing People’s Park (?)

Trevor Cline — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:21:51 +0000

To all who know about the UC system’s recent effort to “sanitize” People’s Park without alerting the People’s Park Community Advisory Board, which Suitcase Clinic actively follows and tries to participate in, please publish a reply to this post or email any of the officers of Suitcase directly, as listed on the website. People’s Park is a place where many of the Suitcase Clinic’s clients sleep and many use it as shelter, and thus we are vested in its maintenance as a safe place for everyone in the Berkeley community to use.

Happy Holidays!

Josh Lee — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 10:03:51 +0000

Season’s greetings!

The Suitcase Clinic wishes everyone a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season! Both General Clinic and Women’s Clinic are closed during the holidays, but Youth Clinic will remain open (except on December 26). General Clinic will resume on January 17th, 2012, and Women’s Clinic will resume on January 16th, 2012.

See you in 2012!