Life of Wry

I joined Maria at a screening tonight for Out Here, a documentary short about the unhoused community in Sacramento. The film presents homelessness in Sac through the eyes of Mark, a social worker who, according to the film, has emerged from his own troubled past to work on the front lines of what they describe is an escalating social crisis. Mark — who was sitting right behind us in the theater — is still, today, working to house and improve the lives of Sacramento’s chronically homeless, navigating incredible institutional challenges and roadblocks.. including, often, substantial resistance from the very folks he’s trying to help.

The film was so poignant. The connections he sometimes made (not always) with folks was hopeful, but also frustrating. It was clear that every single case is unique.. people’s needs are entirely unique to them. It’s clear the solution to homelessness is not a one-size-fits-all.

I was glad to see Vet’s Memorial Theater was packed. It was an event put on by supervisor Sheila Allen, who was sick and couldn’t be there. Her staff thanked and acknowledged lots of folks. In the acknowledgment category, she included Maria, mentioning that she was David’s sister. It was moving to see a film about homelessness in our region, especially as the stabbing trial began this week and two of the victims were unhoused.

The program opened with a piano player (and his dog). This gentleman was featured in the doc:

They also invited another subject in the documentary to read a poem. His sister was on hand, as part of a panel discussion following the film:

In addition to the poet’s sister, the film maker, and two other formerly unhoused women (who now work for agencies providing services to the homeless community) made brief comments and answered questions.

The meat of the trial for David and Karim’s murderer and Kimberlee’s assailant — Carlos — began two days ago. Last week was jury selection and motions. This week the prosecution’s case began with testimony and evidence and will continue for at least two solid weeks before the defense weighs in. And that’s just the guilt phase of this two-part trial. The second phase will be about determining whether these heinous acts were committed by a person in the throes of schizophrenia.

I am planning to be in the courthouse as often as I can manage. I might miss a morning or an afternoon here and there, or even a full day (we only have a few weeks before we take off for Europe and there is a lot that needs to get done in prep for the trip and in prep for being gone.) But I won’t miss any of the proceedings because they offer virtual court! One just goes to the Yolo County Superior Court website, clicks on “View Live Courtroom,” selects a courtroom (Dept 14 in this case), enters their name and they’re in right away. It’s incredibly easy. I’ve watched from home on my laptop and on my phone. I’ve listened to it in the car. I’ve even watched when I’m at the courthouse: when the evidence includes images that are particularly brutal, I have stepped out of the courtroom and into the hall and logged on to the website (where they stream the proceedings without the graphic images).

Here is a screenshot of the coverage from this morning. They offer multiple camera angles.. one of the witness stand (that’s Kimberlee), one of the judge (Sam), one of the attorney’s tables and podium (that’s prosecutor De Moura asking questions and to the right the defense attorney and defendant). You can also see a bit of the gallery.. mostly filled with media folks. When there is an image to share, that is also webcast, unless it’s graphic, in which case it’s blacked out.

When I’ve logged on, I’ve noticed there are around 100 others who are also online. It’s a great public service.