The Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon welcomes Thomas Bernier as a returning member of the Board of Directors. During the early 1980s, Tom provided legal support to the newly formed Gay And Lesbian Alliance (GALA) in Roseburg. Through a 24 hour helpline and various support services GALA provided peer counseling and social activities to the rural homosexual community of Southern Oregon.
During the summer of 1986, when the first cases of AIDS began appearing in Southern Oregon, Tom joined Bob Allen and Billy Russo to found the Roseburg AIDS Task Force. The task force met for one year to determine how best to address the epidemic in rural Oregon. He served on the Douglas County AIDS Council Board through the late 1980’s and provided council to residents of Ruby House, the first home for people living with HIV/AIDS outside the Portland area, and clients and participants at the Harm Reduction Center of Southern Oregon, formerly the HIV Resource Center.
A member of the Oregon State Bar since 1977, Tom is employed by the Arneson Group in Roseburg. In his practice he primarily represents children removed from abusive and neglectful homes and adults and children charged with crimes. He is a member of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Association of Children’s Counsel, the State Advisory Board for the Citizen’s Review Board, and is a past board member of Oregon Legal Services. He has represented clients in all Oregon courts from Justice of the Peace courts to the Oregon Supreme Court.
He created Mumblepiece Theater, a small company that creates and performs theatric presentations for training purposes for CASA, DHS/CWP and the Douglas County Health Department as well as other groups. He has presented on various issues related to trial practice and the representation of children for the Oregon Judicial Conference, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, the Juvenile Court Improvement Project and the Oregon State Bar Juvenile Section.
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