Recently the New York Times posted this article on their website that some states including Arizona and Missouri have passed laws requiring people who want social welfare benefits to pass a drug test (in the form of a urine sample). The benefits they need screening for include assistance with public housing and food stamps.

Those supporting these laws argue that drug tests are common in job application processes now anyway, and working people would be unhappy knowing that their money supports illegal activities. Opponents to the drug-testing laws believe that such requirements vilify people who seek out social welfare, and the fact that they exist imply that low-income people use drugs.

Many of our clients at the Suitcase Clinic receive some form of public assistance. How do you feel about laws like these? Any comments?

Lee Jeffries lives in Manchester in the United Kingdom. Close to the professional football circle, this artist starts to photograph sporting events. A chance meeting with a young homeless girl in the streets of London changes his artistic approach forever. Lee Jeffries recalls that, initially, he had stolen a photo from this young homeless girl huddled in a sleeping bag. The photographer knew that the young girl had noticed him but his first reaction was to leave. He says that something made him stay and go and discuss with the homeless girl. His perception about the homeless completely changes. They become the subject of his art. The models in his photographs are homeless people that he has met in Europe and in the United States: «Situations arose, and I made an effort to learn to get to know each of the subjects before asking their permission to do their portrait.» From then onwards, his photographs portray his convictions and his compassion to the world.

Shot exclusively in black and white, Lee Jeffries has captured more than 135 photographs of the disenfranchised. Check out his Flickr page HERE to view all of these raw and striking captured moments. You will get lost in them.

What is it about these photographs that is most striking to you?

Being thorough, I remove a holey sock
to view a diabetic man’s filthy feet.
I use the time to complete our talk
of what drove him to live on the street
as I wonder how any of this can help.

While he tells me more of his medical past,
I run warm water into a stainless bowl.
I immerse both his feet and begin to ask
myself what good it does for this poor soul
to allow himself to undergo this ablution.

Silently I sluice the water between his toes
and soap the crusty callous at his heel.
I marvel at his arch and notice how closely
it fits my palm. I know he can feel
this proximity too. He shuts his eyes.

Months of useless layers peel away,
revealing layers useless weeks ago.
Removing the tough brown hide of yesterday
yields clean pink skin, but we both know
this ritual will be useless days from now.

Still, this moment may withstand time’s test,
teaching us each lessons unknown before.
I learn the medicine of selflessness.
He learns what medicine is really for–
the hope that basin, soap and touch can bear.

About the poet: 

Robert Fawcett is a family doctor with a masters in education and additional training in sports medicine. He was in private practice for nineteen years prior to joining the faculty of the York Hospital family medicine residency program. “I have always had an interest in poetry, but began writing more seriously about fifteen years ago, when I accidentally took part in a poetry workshop; my daughter was attending, and I’d arrived too early to pick her up. I was a regular at the monthly workshop thereafter and use poetry to reflect on my practice and on my life.”

About the poem:

“This was an experience I had years ago that brought me an increased awareness of how important care is to medical care. Meeting patients on that personal, humanistic level pays huge dividends in terms of both our understanding of the patient’s disease state and the patient’s understanding of (and adherence to) our recommendations.”

Poetry editors:

Judy Schaefer and Johanna Shapiro

I happened to stumble upon an article on the SF Chronicle’s website about a design student who has been developing a coat that can transform into a sleeping bag. Veronika Scott, 22, initially designed the coat as part of a project at the Detroit-based College for Creative Studies. After various prototypes–and $2,000 of her own money–she finalized her design: Element S (for survival). During the day, the coat functions just like any other coat. But at night, it can be converted into a sleeping bag in order to help protect the user from inclement weather.

Scott has been further refining the coat design, which utilizes low-cost materials such as Tyvek insulation and wool. Major companies, such as 3M and Dupont, have expressed interest in helping out her cause. Scott plans to sell the coats for a profit to people that are currently housed, and then use those proceeds to offer the coats for free to those living on the streets.

This type of innovation and dedication is exactly what we need if we are seeking to put an end to homelessness. It is encouraging to know that there are people like Veronika who will go great lengths to help those in need. And while it is unlikely that a single product will end homelessness, there is no doubt that Element S will make a positive impact on our country’s most vulnerable. Perhaps in a few years we’ll have the luxury of handing out these coats to some of our clients as we all know how cold and wet it can get during Berkeley winters.

For more information, check out this NPR piece and visit Scott’s website at: http://detroitempowermentplan.blogspot.com/