5 Responses to Portland, OR: To The Phones!

1. greenharper July 18th, 2012 at 10:39 am 1

   Thanks, mzchief, for the idea and for all the Portland powers-that-be contact information!

   For those of us not following this story as closely, could you also add what these fines are, and what the Right 2 Dream Too Rest Area?

   How would it solve the homelessness problem, and for (apparently) zilch in city funds?

   How long is left on the lease?

   Many thanks!

   Reply
2. mzchief July 18th, 2012 at 6:16 pm 2

   In response to greenharper @ 1

   Thank you for the enquiries, greenharper. I have estimated the accumulated fines to be ~$6,000 (see “Right 2 Dream Too – Rally at City Hall,” PortlandOccupier.Org, by Shawn Fleek, Feb. 1, 2012) but have asked for an update on the total and the expiration date of the lease of what I understand is private property located in downtown Portland.

   I’m wondering if the R2D2 camp can be allowed to stay and be transitioned into another Dignity Village. See “Portland’s Dignity Village expects to win contract extension” (The Oregonian, by Chase G. Hall, Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012, 8:10 PM, Updated: Friday, July 13, 2012, 6:46 PM) to learn about the NE Portland project and see a photo essay about it.

   From “Sleep Is A Human Right” (PortlandOccupier.Org, by Shawn Fleek, January 30, 2012) with my bold:

   Occupy Portland was evicted from its camp at Chapman Square and Lownsdale Park in downtown Portland after a 37 day violation of the “camping ban,” which states plainly that sleeping overnight in tents in a public park is unlawful and cause for citation or arrest. Just up the street from Occupy, having appeared just before the Occupy camp sprung up in the late Autumn, another camp stands. This camp, at the corner of 4th and W. Burnside, is “Right to Dream, Too”. Ibrahim Mubarak, co-founder of the R2D2 camp and Dignity Village, speaks eloquently and often about the need for house-less people to sleep without harassment. Volunteers and residents at R2D2 wax poetic on the psychological effects of a lack of rest, from behind bleary eyes which tell the tale of sleep-deprivation.

   The Occupy Portland camp, when still functional, served hundreds of free meals daily, provided free basic medical and mental health care, and gave the city’s ever-increasing houseless population a place where multitudes could sleep without police harassment. Many of the problems that plagued the camp from day one were related to the overabundance of deeply impoverished and transient people simply looking for food and rest. The 99% includes the poorest, most disadvantaged, disabled and distraught people in the country, people the 1% would just as soon forget. Occupy Portland’s camp was, before eviction, a symbol of the resolve and generosity of the Occupy Movement. Now, R2D2 is the only camp of this sort close to ground-zero of the local War on Poverty, Downtown Portland.

   Here are more follow-on articles regarding Right To Dream Too (R2D2) and Dignity Village:

   “Homelessness” (PortlandOccupier.Org, by Christina Schüll, Feb. 5, 2012)

   “The Class War Within,” (PortlandOccupier.Org, by Lester Macgurdy, Mar. 2, 2012)

   Reply
3. mzchief July 18th, 2012 at 7:52 pm 3

   [Image] How many people do you know would put themselves through this for the unhoused?

   Cameron Whitten ‏@CameronWhitten
   ‪#pdxhunger‬ pic.twitter.com/O2x9njkA
   8:21 PM – 18 Jul 12 via Twitter for Android · Details

   Reply
4. caliope July 19th, 2012 at 5:27 am 4

   Thanks for the good info! Now day 49!

   Reply
5. mzchief July 19th, 2012 at 6:47 am 5

   I agree!:

   Anthony Agitator ‏@Punx_n_Pinball
   Please don’t let @CameronWhitten starve to death.
   8:38 PM – 18 Jul 12 via web · Details

   Reply