Occupy Eugene Medical Re-Occupies Downtown

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: press@occupyeugenemedia.org
occupyeugenemedia.org, @OccupyEugene

Occupy Eugene Medical Re-Occupies Downtown

Occupy Medical is on the move again. Beginning February 5th, Eugene Occupy Medical Team will offer free medical services downtown. The Occupy Eugene Medical Team will be setting up a tent in front of the Federal Building at 7th and Pearl to serve the community. The Medical tent will be staffed by volunteers from various branches of the medical committee: doctors, nurses, EMTs, and alternative care professionals. Occupy Medical is open every Sunday 12-5pm.

This press release is from the Communications Committee of Occupy Eugene that has been empowered to speak on behalf of the larger Occupy Eugene body.

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Also available in : Spanish

Housing is a Human Right; Stop the Foreclosures!

 

POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER AND POOR TRAVEL CONDITIONS!!!!

Where: Reality Kitchen, 245 Van Buren, Eugene.

When: Sunday, January 15, 1 – 3 pm.

In collaboration with Good Grief America and Reality Kitchen, Occupy Eugene Neighborhood Actions will be having a teach-in and discussion on the foreclosure crisis and what it means for residents of Eugene, OR.

The presentation will be provided by Nancie Koerber of Good Grief America, who has been helping families in Oregon for several years.

Eugene residents will learn how the banks make more money foreclosing rather than working with people and how they can keep their homes.

The event includes 80 minutes of interactive teach-in on the foreclosure crisis and how it is siphoning our economy and the strategic actions to stop and hold Wall Street accountable.

The next 20 minutes will be in breakout sessions on issues participants want to work on in their community, and the last 20 minutes will be reports from the groups and calls to action.

map link

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=245+Van+Buren+Street%2C+Eugene%2C+OR&aq=0&oq=245+van+bur&sll=44.091839%2C-123.059771&sspn=0.011497%2C0.027874&vpsrc=0&ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=245+Van+Buren+St%2C+Eugene%2C+Oregon+97402&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A

1/15/12 Occupy Free Expression: A Benefit for Occupy Eugene

Free expression of ideas, creative expression and the power of words are ways people can manifest collective wisdom. No one can stop us from talking now and we will keep them talking. Poetry, Spoken Word, Music, Sales of Occupy Art, Fashion, Promo Items.

Where: Sunday, January 15, 2012
When: Tsunami Books, 2585 Willamette St, Eugene, 4p to 6p

Contact: Jen Frenzer

Socks of coal for Eugene’s Naughty Banks

Occupiers acted as Santa’s helpers this Christmas and delivered socks full of coal to five Eugene banks.  Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Umpqua were included.  Next to each sock hung a chronicle of their actions which made them part of Santa’s Naughty list.  The coal came from the Occupy Eugene site itself.  Merry Christmas Corporate America!

Occupy Eugene, Community Saddened by Death of Rick Adam Youngblood

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:press@occupyeugenemedia.org
occupyeugenemedia.org, @OccupyEugene

Occupy Eugene, Community Saddened by Death of Rick Adam Youngblood

Occupy Eugene is extremely saddened by the news of the death of Rick Adam Youngblood, who was involved in a fight at the Occupy Eugene site late Monday night.

Life on the streets is rarely easy.  The unfortunate and hidden truth about homelessness is that it can be violent and dangerous, as we saw in the microcosm of street life that sprung up at Occupy Eugene.  As a society, we condone and promote this state of affairs when we push the unhoused into the shadows on the periphery of our community and limit the resources available to them.  The fight which ended Rick Adam Youngblood’s life was an unsettlingly common event; of a type generally dismissed by society.

One aspect of the Occupy Eugene camp at Washington-Jefferson park often overlooked by media and the police is the sense of community and place that it provided to the unhoused who lived there.  Many of the unhoused individuals and families residing at the camp testified to the dramatic increase in safety and security that the location provided. It is unfortunate that this aspect of the camp’s function will not be replicated or replaced by the “transitional services” the city is attempting to coordinate for the camp’s residents.

In Younglood’s situation, the Occupy Eugene volunteer medics on site were able to respond more quickly than other emergency medical personnel would have been able to, and worked with police personnel to assist Rick when they arrived. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances and location of the fight and the severity of his injuries, they were not able to provide assistance in time.

We thank members of our community, and Eugene police who did their best to tend to his injuries, and we send our condolences to Mr. Youngblood’s relatives and friends.

Occupy Eugene is holding a candlelight vigil in memory of Rick Adam Youngblood and other victims of street violence at 6:30pm today, December 23, at the Morse Free Speech Plaza.

This press release has been approved by the General Assembly of Occupy Eugene.

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12. 23 Vigil and GA at ParkBlocks

Occupy Eugene is holding a candle light vigil in memory of Rick Youngblood and other victims of street violence at 6:30p today at Free Speech Plaza.

There will be a general assembly to follow at 7:00pm.

Camp Update/Adopt an Occupier!

The city government and police department has closed down Washington-Jefferson park  and our camping Occupy community is asked to vacate today . We are continuing to work cooperatively with the police to functionally remove tents, break down structures, and foremost, keep our park clean during this displacement. Our goal is to continue to keep this a peaceful action, working with the police to deconstruct on our terms, and in turn making sure that personal belongings remain intact and in our possession, unlike many of the evicted Occupiers across the country.

Unfortunately, the social services that were promised to be on site to help with the transition as homeless folks left the park did not arrive until 3:30pm, and many people who needed these services had already left.

This is a great opportunity to show Eugene and the world how resilient and passionate our community is—because it is built on love. To demonstrate this love, we want to initiate the ‘Adopt an Occupier’ campaign. This call goes out to members and supporters of the movement with houses or spare living situations. Please, open up your spare rooms, extra sofas, driveways, backyards or even a corner of a room. Please take the time to come down to the site and get in contact with a houseless Occupier to take home for the holiday season. Or call the Occupy Eugene hotline at 541-525-0130.

Solidarity starts at home. Adopt an Occupier.