IS THIS A SWEEP OR A SHOW OF POWER? They had Riot gear on. They had Animal Service with them and were taking people’s pets. You can see in the Photo what it must have looked like to the Houseless Community. Guess what? The city gave the Police Department a new site (Land) over by the Hawthorne Bridge and Fire Station for a Police Horse Corral. It’s a very sad thing when People are treated like a DISEASE!
1
Margolis, Gregory Allen
66 Mar. 12, 1949 May 09, 2015
Beloved father of Sam and Laurel; much-loved brother of Ken and Roger; favorite uncle of Jesse, Zak and Sara; and ex-husband of and co-parent with Barbara Blaize, Greg died peacefully the afternoon of May 9, 2015, in his home surrounded and cared for by loving family members. Recognized as an intellectual leader of the movement for social change, Greg’s greatest asset was his enormous heart. He is mourned not only by his family, but by the hundreds of friends he made in his volunteer work and the hundreds more whose lives benefited from that work. After his retirement as a paralegal in 2003, Greg became a full-time volunteer organizer, strategist, activist and spokesperson for a number of social justice groups including Right 2 Dream Too and Jobs With Justice, which awarded him the rare and prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Greg always did what he felt was right; as a result, he left the world better than he found it. His life was cut short, but Greg lived life fully, a life of commitment, joy and love. He is desperately missed by the many who loved and learned from him.
Published in The Oregonian from May 22 to May 24, 2015
“Satisfaction”
The most beautiful thing
for those who have fought a whole life
is to come to the end and say;
we believed in people and life,
and life and the people
never let us down.
Only in this way do men become men,
women become women,
fighting day and night
for people and for life.
And when these lives come to an end
the people open their deepest rivers
and they enter those waters forever.
And so they become, distant fires, living,
creating the heart of example
Otto Rene Castillo
2.5 Days Out…
By: Aaron
I took off on my big venture. The first night I had no problem finding a place to sleep. I went down behind a power plant that I have stayed at many times, all was good. I knew I had to leave by 7:00am, but stayed until 8:30am. It was good and I had no troubles.
The next day I took off to explore and get drunk. Well, I did a little bit of both. Along my trip I found way more homeless people than when I had left three years ago. People had tents in plain sight on the bike trail. Other people were sleeping in bushes and doorways with overhangs. It was crazy…
artwork by: Sarah
By: Gary S.
At the end of the day
my hands tired,
my stomach growling.
Pushing forward
into the cold dark night.
The burning of icicles
hanging from my whiskers.
Breath hot on crooked lips.
Collapsing onto the sidewalk,
my bag thrown to the soft,
welcoming concrete.
Sleep comes at last.
By: William K.
Billions of people under a spell,
without an umbrella
in the midst of mental, physical, and spiritual hell.
While the true origin,
scattered like stars and planets amongst the heavens,
seek to expand from 666 to sevens.
While battling the good fight,
where some of us lose our will,
like the value of a tattered 2 dollar bill.
Hoping to be discovered by the angels of these planes,
that are themselves caught within some
trials of tribulation and pain.
My blood sweat and tears
go out to the possibility
of divine change.
As I secretly devise a plan to rearrange.
Revealing the forgotten keys of ascension,
to the good fallen angels
in bad angels’ detention.
That rest amongst the zombies
in these places of descent ion.
Where they lost focus of those
who need their attention.
To those who are here, I plead
to rise above the physical State,
eat no more of these lies
that have been placed on your plates.
It is within you to return to heavens’ gate.
144,000 angels
to save the woman and mankind
from this evil fate,
of sorrow, and ignorance, belief and Hate.
By: Gary S.
When the sun comes out,
my petals slowly open,
reaching toward the warmth of light.
Feeding me with the glowing radiance of love.
Sky father giving me his smiling joy.
Letting me know that each day as I slowly grow,
Everything is perfect.
My leaves and branches tickling the breeze
as it flows by into eddies of laughter
and currents of springtime.
Soon I will have fruit to give to the world.
Perfect little babies,
carried off to start their own lives.
Lives of joy and love,
reaching each day,
reaching for the sun.
Pitch a Tent is a public camp out designed to raise awareness about the criminalization of homelessness in Portland and across the nation and the creative solutions that can be implemented immediately to address this human rights crisis.
Each year in Portland, Oregon, the city government permits pitching tents along the Grand Floral Parade route. For 24 hours, the city allows camping in the city, an activity that is criminalized the other 364 days, causing houseless people to seek shelter in doorways, under bridges, and in bushes, in hopes of surviving the rain and cold without shelter.
HOW YOU CAN HELP. Come pitch a tent for the right to survive. Contact your city officials and tell them to support alternative solutions including self-managed rest areas, eco-villages, collective housing, and tent cities. Demand that our city put an end to ordinances that criminalize people for survival activities.
We encourage those who are able to bring extra tents to host houseless folks in need of shelter.
Come join us in solidarity and to enjoy the food and entertainment.
If you are interested in donating for this event or would like to volunteer in any way, feel free to contact us at r2spdx@gmail.com or call Amber Dunks at 503-496-9934.
As always, thank you for your support of Right 2 Survive!
Portland to Purchase Land for New Right To Dream Too Site
Posted: April 29, 2015 in UncategorizedTags: Right 2 Dream Too
PORTLAND, OR – The City of Portland is in negotiations to purchase a plot of land in the Central Eastside that could become the new home for the Right To Dream 2 rest area.
The site is owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation. It is 9,073 square feet at Southeast Third Avenue and Harrison Street.
For almost four years, R2DToo has provided shelter on Burnside Street at Northwest Fourth Avenue, at the entrance to Old Town/Chinatown. An estimated 70 people per night stay there, and organizers say more than 200 people found housing while being supported at the site. The rest area for Portland’s houseless population has proven to be an effective model for a self-governing operation. However, the land upon which it sits is under contract to be sold.
Staff for Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Amanda Fritz have been seeking an alternative site for well over a year. Issues under consideration include the size of the property, proximity to social services and to transit, and the impact on neighbors.
“Right to Dream has proven that it can be a good neighbor,” Hales said. “Our Central Precinct police officers confirm that the site is well managed. But it cannot stay at its current location, and we need to find them a new home.”
The purchase of the new site is pending. A timeline for a move is not yet known. A purchase agreement could be ready for City Council consideration by the end of May. Funding provided by the Pearl District Investors, for a 2014 property sale, will be used to pay for the new property.
“I’m happy the city has worked with Right to Dream Too board members to review many options for new locations, and that we’ve settled on this one,” Fritz said. “Right to Dream Too provides a valuable community service, keeping people living outside safe and sheltered.”
In seeking the site, staff for Mayor Hales and Commissioner Fritz have spoken to the leadership of the Central Eastside Industrial Council, Hosford Abernethy Neighborhood Development and surrounding businesses.
While R2DToo has proven effective, Hales emphasizes that Portland – like all cities in the nation – will continue to struggle with issues of homelessness.
“We have made Housing one of our top budget priorities in 2013, 2014 and again this year. It is a priority of Multnomah County. And yet, on any given night, we may have 1,700 homeless people living unsheltered in our city,” Hales said. “Homelessness is a crisis at the city, state and national level. Any aid we can provide for people who are houseless, or who are at risk of becoming houseless, will remain our priority.”
(Press Release from Portland’s Mayor’s Office 4/29/2015)
The Right 2 Sleep, Perchance to Dream/ Excerpt from “Pieces of Portland”
Posted: April 23, 2015 in Uncategorizedby: Marie Deatherage
This May 1st, community organizations, labor advocacy groups, unions, and supporters aim to march and rally to commemorate International Workers’ Day by highlighting issues of poverty wages, homelessness, wage theft, foreclosures, unemployment, racial and gender inequality, the need for a just and humane immigration reform, climate change and other affects of the systemic attack on working people.
“The gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen as corporate control of the economy grows and government corruption increases,” said Ben Marston of Unite Here, a union representing low wage hotel workers. “Our members struggle to make ends meet and often have to rely on social services such as food stamps even though they work full time. Workers are starting to fight back as we have seen recently with unions like the Portland Association of Teachers, the city workers of DCTU and the Professors at PSU who all threatened to strike in order to force good faith negotiations and a fair contract.”
According to Romeo Sosa of the immigrant rights organization Voz, “The immigrant population has always played a major role in the May Day event. Despite a growing attack on undocumented workers and their families, the community is standing strong in saying ‘no more’ to deportations that are separating children and parents.” Sosa continues, “We have collaborated with unions and community groups like Jobs with Justice and the homeless advocacy group Right 2 Dream Too. We see that our struggle against this corrupt system connects us all and that through solidarity we will become strong enough to create a new and just world.”
People will begin to gather at the South Park Blocks at 2:00 PM and the rally begins at 3:00 PM with speakers and musicians who will communicate the challenge to the community to confront issues of poverty wages, homelessness, wage theft, foreclosures, unemployment, racial and gender inequality, the need for a just and humane immigration reform, climate change and other affects of the systemic attack on working people. At 4:30 PM a march will begin through downtown Portland and will end back at the South Park Blocks at about 5:30 PM when there will be a short wrap up rally with some entertainment and speakers.
May Day, an ancient celebration of coming of summer, became an integral part of the late-1800s labor movement fighting for an eight-hour day. Over a hundred years ago workers organized on this day to demand fair labor conditions. Today, working people are still denied basic rights, as many live in poverty, endure houselessness, food insecurity, and lack of access to health care. As we approach May Day in 2015, we recognize how immigration status, race, ethnicity, gender identity, access to education, and other personal realities intersect and affect the way workers experience a range of injustices. This year our call is to reflect on the differences, find common ground, and Rise Up In Solidarity.
Endorsed by:
Jobs with Justice, VOZ Workers Rights Education Project, Oregon Federation of Nurses & Health Professional, Local #5017, American Friends Service Committee, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee, Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (PCHRP), Healthcare for all Oregon, Democratic Socialists of America, Carpenters, SEIU 503, Don’t Shoot PDX, Black, Lives Matter, Gente Unida, AARPR, Right 2 Survive/ Right 2 Dream too, PAT, Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, 15 Now, Portland Right to the City, Mt. Hood Lodge #1005, Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, Portland Association of Teachers, Metanoia Peace Community, NATL ASSCN of letter carriers, Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, Socialist Alternative – Portland Branch, Industrial Workers of the World, Climate Jobs Committee, ASFCME Green, 350PDX, Code Pink Portland, UNITE HERE Local 8.
Right 2 Survive PDX 