Last Sunday, the General Assembly approved Occupy Portland’s Sisters in Strength to provide oversight of all donations collected.  A donate link for the Vigil has also been added to the left sidebar of occupyportland.org.

The 24/7 Vigil on the steps of Portland City Hall calls for the following:

We call on people of conscience and people of all faiths and creeds to join us in a collective prayer that the Portland City Council immediately suspend the ban on camping.

This ban is unconstitutional, and enforcement of it puts our community at risk by criminalizing people’s attempts to find shelter from the cold.

Shelter is a human right!  End the ban Now!

For more information:

Facebook

Donation Page

Twitter

Here’s the link to the wepay account: https://www.wepay.com/donations/occupy-pdx-natgat-transportation
Here’s the link to the Nat Gat: http://www.occupynationalgathering.com/

We are calling on our Community to come share your stories, ideas, cooking, art, music, passion and intention to work together to build a more enjoyable world. Sometimes we just need to make time to celebrate what’s possible.

Find us on the web at www.thesymbiosisproject.org

Or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CommunitySupportedEverything

Dear brothers and sisters,

We got our asses kicked on 1 MAY.

Already some of our fellows have been experiencing symptoms of PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder).
Criteria includes: direct personal experience or witnessing an event involving death or threat of death or serious injury. It can even include hearing about an event that involved a loved one. First response could include fear, helplessness, or horror. Symptoms can manifest as intrusive thoughts re-experiencing the event, avoidance, isolation, numbing of general responsiveness, and an increased sense of arousal (not the good kind).

The symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupation, or other important areas of functioning. Let’s not forget nightmares, dissociative states, amnesia, psychic numbing, feeling detached, sense of foreshortened future, difficulty concentrating, irritability, emotional outbursts of anger. Also triggering i.e. when an event resembles or symbolizes the trauma such as the weather or a smell or a sound. Sleeping disorders and restricted range of emotion are common.

Do not despair. Symptoms usually resolve. If you are still having symptoms after a month you should consult a professional (moms and grandmas are not good at treating all the aspects of PTSD). You are not crazy (well some of you are but not because of this). This condition involves changing neuronal pathways to protect us from this insult to our mortality and sense of well being. Although possibly adaptive to traumatic events it is not the way we want to live our daily lives.

It will destroy relationships and meaningful lives. Let’s not let this dysfunctional pathway get ingrained in our brains. If you are affected it is probably a good idea to stay away from contentious events until you are back on your feet. Let’s help each other. Let’s protect each other. We are one. You are not alone. nihil illegitimus carborundom
(don’t let the bastards grind you down)

Peace

The Medical Committee of Occupy Portland

Here is a list of resources for those experiencing trauma.

Mental Health Crisis Services

Call-In
Multnomah County Crisis Call-In Center
503-988-4888
Toll-Free 800-716-9769
24 hours a day

Walk In
Cascadia Urgent Walk-In Clinic
Serves adults, children and families
2415 SE 43rd Ave
Use west entrance on SE 42nd/Division
Hours 7am-10:30pm, 7 days a week
Bus#4

House Calls
Project Respond Mobile Outreach
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Throughout Multnomah County
Call Project Respond at 503-988-4888

Medical Resources

Outside In Medical Clinic
1132 SW 13th Ave Portland
503-535-3890
Must be homeless and under the age of 30 to be seen at this Clinic

Old Town Clinic
727 W Burnside St Portland
503-228-4618

The Wallace Medical Concern
West Burnside Street
503-489-1760

OHSU Richmond Clinic
3930 NE MLK
503-418-3900

SW Community Health Center
7754 SW Capital Hwy Portland
503-977-0733

Mercy and Wisdom Healing Center
2 NW 3rd Ave Portland
503-227-1222

Quest Center for Integrative Health
2901 E Burnside St Portland
503-238-5203

From Alex Pio of the Occutour

Occunauts brokedown on the side of the road in Utah on their way to Chicago, after visiting amazing encampment at Occupy Salt Lake City.

Hey folks,

Occutour needs help! I occutoured until Friday when I had to leave, and on Sunday the transmission fell out of the van, they’re now stranded in green river, Utah.

Anyways, I’m putting this out into the occupy universe for it to work its magic, I know several things that could help them now:

- another car
- money to repair the transmission (Send them some funds HERE)
- a ride to Chicago
- world peace

If any of you can help with any of the above, or know someone who can, please email info@occutour.org

Alex

About the Occutour:

Our country is at an impasse. Its education, healthcare, and justice systems are dysfunctional. Wealth inequality is at unprecedented levels, corporations have hijacked the government, and climate change is under way.  Consumption – rather than community – has long been touted as the key to happiness. People are suffering.

The Occupy movement exploded last fall, bringing this national discontent to the forefront – igniting conversation, protest, and action across the nation.  What happens next?

The OccuTour provides organizing, learning and action support for communities to turn discontent into change by:

1. Providing a selection of workshops, panels, discussions, and activities customizable to the needs of specific communities to spark conversation, inform, and build capacity for social change advocacy.

2. Offering our skills and motivation to help build and grow local organizing projects.

3. Documenting the state of activism, alternative livelihoods, and the changing face of civic involvement in communities across the United States.

Occupy Portland is committed to recognizing and coming to the assistance of the peoples and organizations who have been working to address those who are most afflicted by economic and social inequality, most notably the houseless.

Recently, due to the explosive increase in need, several churches in the Portland area have opened their spaces as shelters for the housless. To continue to offer their spaces as shelters, these churches are asking the community to join them in responding to the needs of the houseless.

Many of us who are involved with Occupy Portland believe that access to shelter is an inalienable human right. We of Occupy Portland want to make sure that the community understands our commitment to promoting a more compassionate world, a world in which the needs of the poverty stricken are acknowledged and met. Also, we want the community’s trust that when we speak of “change”, we intend to be the change we want to see in the world. No more waiting for politics to address poverty and houslessness.

Working together with the faith communities who have stepped up to shelter the housless, we can ensure that more of the housless in our city have access to shelter.

What they are requesting: Shelter hosts

This is an overnight commitment to host the shelter and its guests for the evening.

Evening routine looks like:

6:30 PM Occupy hosts arrive at shelter

7pm Open doors to let guests in for evening

7-9PM Guests will have access to shower and kitchen facilities

9pm Lights out

7am Wake up call

8am Clear and lock up shelter

Where/When: Beginning in February, Occupy the Shelters working group will be hosting every Thursday evening at Common Cup shelter. The shelter is located on 35th and se Yamhill.

Other Info:

No less than two Occupiers are needed to host each Thursday.

The church provides an air mattress and sleeping space for the hosts as well, so no need to stay awake all night.

Occupy Portland is free to use the space for meetings during the hours of 7-9 so long as it doesn’t conflict with our host duties.

Please connect with Elmira to get involved in this outreach project.

971-269-7370 or at elmirodrig@gmail.com

A message from the web team:

***Update: All meeting notes will now be posted at pdxga.org***

portlandgeneralassembly.org

We’re working out the kinks, but everyone is now welcome to join the Portland General Assembly community. It’s like a combination of facebook, google+ and googlegroups listserve. Meanwhile, the new OPDX page will be up shortly. Please have patience.

This new community site is not just about Occupy Portland. It’s about all the work being done on all fronts within Portland to right the inexcusable wrongs we have for too long sat complacent with. Before Occupy Portland existed, there were thousands of activists in PDX working tirelessly on the issues that Occupy Portland has brought to the forefront of media and public attention. Thousands more recognized the need to get involved and do something about our future, together.

It’s time we all connect. It’s time we stop duplicating our actions while squandering precious resources. It’s time we ORGANIZE.

Instructions:
-Go to the website.
-Create an account.
-Start a group. (you will become admin and can add others)
-Add your contact info followed by your mission statement. If your group needs a logo, contact opdxdesigncollectiveATgmail.com and request a logo. Make sure you give some specifications.
-Tell everyone on your listserve to join.

Features:
-Facebook-like communication
-Google+-like circles feature
-Community Sourced Links page
-Everyone can create events
-Discussion forum within groups (now we can stop relying on discussion in long email threads!)
-Inter-group Document Sharing
-Community-sourced Moderation
-And Much More!!

Please share this new site within your circles.

Thank you.

12/3 We gather at Salmon Spring Fountain on the corner of SW Naito Pkwy and Salmon St. at 2PM. March to the new occupation site begins at 3PM.

12/2 OP PR Liaison Jordan LeDoux gives a press conference about the reoccupation:

Please come out and show your support for Occupy Portland’s Reoccupation–

DONATE SIGN MAKING SUPPLIES TODAY FOR SATURDAY’S EVENT!
DROP THEM OFF AT 4PM @ LINCOLN SQUARE, SOUTH PARK BLOCKS
The block between Madison and Main

Needs List:

• Paint
• Markers
• Banner Material (2 large white sheets, or 2 canvas paint drop cloths)
• 2 tall wooden polls (for banner carrying)
• Poster paper/boards
• Or anything else we could use!

TO DONATE FOOD – email opdxkitchen@gmail.com