Without Healing There is No Justice: The People’s Clinic Takes Off in West Oakland

Written by Guadalupe, APTP Healing Justice Network Director

As frontline organizers and communities impacted by state violence, we utilize Healing Justice (HJ) as both a political and spiritual framework. Our liberation demands that we nurture our healing processes and leadership as we fight for justice. Our Black, Indigenous, LGBTQI bodies and lives are worth fighting for and it is our birthright to live them in sustainable and joyful ways. 

Our HJ framework invites community to envision and manifest a life beyond the violence, stigmas, and challenges we survive everyday. Without healing there is no justice. We also understand that addressing the impacts of carceral and state violence is a lifelong process. 

The prevalence of trauma, both chronic and acute, due to state violence and negligence is devastating and widespread within the U.S. and beyond. The effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) on one’s life can be all-encompassing and include flashbacks, sleep disorders, chronic pain, addiction, rage, grief, anxiety, depression, violence on others and one’s self, and an inability to live a full and functioning life. 

For APTP, HJ is a relationship-based organizing strategy that leads us to abolition. We build power and interrupt the impacts of violence by creating community care spaces that address the trauma on our spirits, hearts, minds, and bodies. Most recently we launched an abolitionist wellness center, The People’s Clinic, to uplift our ancestral medicines, earth medicines, and peer support models. 

“We draw upon the revolutionary history of the Young Lords, and seek to honor the legacy of Dr. Mutulu Shakur, who used Chinese Medicine to provide critical services to communities that were most impacted by the 1970’s heroin epidemic.”

At The People’s Clinic we provide access to tools and services that help people recover and heal from the abuses of the system. Not only is there often a lack of healthcare within communities most impacted by police violence, but there is also almost no framework for a healing path within the healthcare system at large.

We began The People’s Clinic as part of our rapid response mobilization of healers to support Palestinian organizers in the Bay Area following the October 7th uprisings. This took the form of an informal wellness space at The People’s House in West Oakland, where Palestinian and Arab organizations were invited to receive a number of healing modalities including auricular acupuncture, foot soaks, massage, and moxibustion heat therapy. Many of the participants had already sustained injuries and traumas from direct action organizing and the chronic state of shock as the images of horrific violence against Gaza began to flood in. What began as an impromptu rendezvous point soon evolved into a regularly scheduled treatment facility known as The People’s Clinic. 

The Clinic formally launched in March 2024 with consistent scheduling options that include services for families impacted by police violence in the Bay Area and our West Oakland neighbors. The People’s Clinic is creating infrastructure for our communities to address and heal from systemic violence. This is a space to connect with our roots and shift our perspectives of what it means to heal individually and as a community. In this space we make holistic healing accessible for those who are actively sidelined and we engage in collective care. This model of shared knowledge and accessibility to health and healing offers the exploration of ancestral medicine by providing alternative perspectives of health that focus on root causes of pain, grief and illness. The People’s Clinic is based in West Oakland, but is also a mobile operation that is supporting leaders and communities on the frontlines of state terror both within the U.S. and in solidarity with international movements. 

“Ancestral medicine is one of the greatest strengths that our movement has to combat state violence and it is a central value of APTP to utilize healing justice as a strategy for the longevity of organized resistance.”

APTP has established the first Healing Justice hub in West Oakland with the launch of The People’s Clinic, our Telehealth Herbal Pharmacy, and People’s Healing Tool Library. By drawing on the strengths of Chinese Medicine and other traditional healing modalities, The People’s Clinic hosts biweekly clinic hours for the impacted communities that APTP is in direct service to and in solidarity with. We intentionally coincide with our Mental Health First hours of operation which provides non-911 first responder services for mental health crises, intimate partner violence, substance use, and other emergencies. 

We draw upon the revolutionary history of the Young Lords, and seek to honor the legacy of Dr. Mutulu Shakur, who used Chinese Medicine to provide critical services to communities that were most impacted by the 1970’s heroin epidemic. Ancestral medicine is one of the greatest strengths that our movement has to combat state violence and it is a central value of APTP to utilize healing justice as a strategy for the longevity of organized resistance.

If you’re a frontline organizer or directly impacted by state violence, you’re invited to join our clinic at The People’s House on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month from 3pm to 7pm.

This meaningful work would not be possible without community. Please support our work by making a donation or becoming a monthly donor today to ensure we can continue to provide and expand these crucial services for our people.