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By: Land & Housing Action Group, 02-May-10
Right 2 Survive (r2s), an organization led by un-housed community members and their allies, honored May Day (May 1) in historic fashion by seizing control over a vacant lot in front of the long vacant Washington High School, on the corner of SE 12th Ave. and Stark in SE Portland, and building a tent city to shelter the un-housed.
R2S fed the crowd of about 100, provided clothing and engaged the un-housed community in workshops and discussions. The event and camp appeared well organized, with about a dozen tents for the un-housed and supporters.
"This is a celebration because we are taking our rights back," exclaimed Julie McCurdy, a member of R2S. "What we're doing is coming up with solutions tailored for our community. We are tired of waiting for city hall to come up with revised plans and rehashed ordinances that do not meet the needs of un-housed Portlanders."
The civil disobedience is a direct challenge to Portland's no camping laws, which, effectively, criminalize the act of sleeping while homeless. R2S members are scheduled to discuss next steps and inform the public as the un-housed make their decisions.
Below is a video of the action:
R2S is a collection of homeless people, formerly homeless, and their allies, determined to assert and strengthen everyone's rights to survival, to shelter, to safety, and to self-support. The R2S blog is located at right2survive.wordpress.com
R2S is an autonomous organization which is also a part of the Take Back the Land Movement. The action is part of the May 2010 National Month of Action to demand the human right to housing, called for by the Take Back the Land Movement (takebacktheland.org) in conjunction with the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC- economichumanrights.org), and organization with a long history of housing takeovers. Actions are expected in at least twelve (12) US cities and include housing takeovers and the defense of families facing eviction.