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Over a year ago, a small band of devoted Occupiers came together and created the “St. Francis Working Group” to plan well ahead about evolving our current Office and to prepare for the time if we do decide to move to another location. Now, with numerous General Assembly and Spokes Council approvals, as well as input from Info Team and FoOP, we have reached consensus that we will move to a more efficient and affordable location, but we need YOU to help make that happen.
There are several reasons why this consensus has been reached. Accessibility has always been an issue at St. Francis Parish, as anyone coming into our office can attest. At the current location there is no parking nor a direct entryway, and with none of the windows facing the adjacent street, it is tucked away and easy to pass by. We wanted to downsize so we can begin allocating our funds to events and social projects again and focus less on Rent. Moving to a new location is really an expansion of our movement by making the office more accessible, giving it better exposure and making it more efficient.
We will move into the new location by April 15th, with plans to have our Grand Opening this International Workers’ Day, May 1st. No definite space has been agreed upon, which means we are open to any tips of for-lease buildings around the Portland area. The ideal space should be around 300-600 square feet, being around $300-$500 per month. A store-front would be a great bonus, and we prefer neighborhoods with diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds as opposed to trendy gentrification or downtown skyscrapers. Please continue to make suggestions for potential new space by sending us an email or giving us a call.
Occupy continues to act as a nexus and support for the peace and social justice movement in Portland. This space would be used for committee/working group meetings, meetings for other socioeconomic justice movement groups, a contact point, information dissemination and network hub, a computer lab for activists to use, an art lab for projects related to our movement, and a library (like our current meeting space). We are continually grateful that we are still one of the few Occupy branches who has an indoor Office to call home, and are acutely aware of how our long-term success and influence could not have been made possible without it.
But we want to be clear that our movement is not centralized or trapped in our Office. So many different groups and offshoots have arose thanks to that fateful day in October 2011. There is an Occupy Beaverton, Occupy Gresham and Occupy St. Johns. There is Portland Action Lab , Community Supported Everything, Culture Mend, Rumorz Coffee, People’s Budget Committee, The City Hall Vigil, Bike Swarm andThe Portland Occupier among others: if it weren’t for Occupy, they may have never started. Of course, the branches don’t always acknowledge their roots (like budget cuts and Wall St. greed), but as the root, we are more than impressed how our city is being changed and our aspirations bearing fruit. We hope you’ll be the same once you take time to redefine grassroots, organizational success.
We have always appreciated our time at St. Francis and want to hold a night of celebration for their gracious cooperation. That includes Red & Black Cafe, a real added bonus whose work and values they’ve been keeping long before we existed. We are in the works of planning this night, stay tuned for the announcement, the calendar post, and the social media RSVPs.
We’ve set up an Indiegogo campaign to help fund our new meeting space here: OPDX Office Space 2.0. This is a pivotal time to recruit volunteers to staff our Office and join Info Team — if you want to sign up please contact us here: or call 971-258-1006. Thanks for the continued, ongoing support: You really ARE the 99% rising up to action.
OCCUPY!