Many people have asked, “what are our next steps?” and “what are you doing, now that there’s no camp?” The answer is: a lot! Here’s a round-up of this weekend’s actions, trainings, and events, courtesy of the outreach working group. For more details — including locations and descriptions — please read to the bottom of this entire post. Thanks!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16

8:15 am — Courtroom Solidarity and Press Conference

12 pm — Home for the Holidays: City Life Press Conference and Tenant Speak-out

5-7 pm — Rally to Support Liberté Locke, Starbucks Union Organizer

6-8:30 pm — Occupy Boston Community Forum: Addressing Space and Housing Issues

6-9 pm — Ocupemos el Barrio Meeting

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17

10-5 pm — Non-violent Direct Action Training @ Spontaneous Celebrations, 45 Danforth Street,  Jamaica Plain

12-6 pm — #D17 Actions: 12pm “Pro-Corporate” Rally, ~2pm Picnic, ~4pm Occupy Boston Tea Party (all meet at the Parkman Bandstand on the Commons)

2 pm — Occupy Boston Community Forum: Thinking about Next Steps @ Encuentro Cinco, 33 Harrison, Boston (Chinatown T stop) NB: This is notat St. Paul’s.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18

11:30 am – 2:30 pm — Roadmap Planning Meeting @ Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown

12-5 pm — Direct Action Strategy and Action Planning @Community Church, 565 Boylston Street, Boston

1:30-4 pm — Occupy Boston Action Summit @ Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

12 pm — Occupy our Homes: Rally and March against HUD eviction requirements

Continue reading “What Occupy Boston is up to this weekend!” »

Last night, thousands of people rallied to Dewey Square to defend the small community that has emerged over the last few months, and the larger idea that it represents.  Throughout the day, occupiers were handed a notice to evict, warning us that we would be subject to criminal trespassing if we remained in the park after 11 p.m.

The threat of police action in Dewey Square underscores the daily experience of hundreds of thousands of people who face a “lawful forceful response” — not for locking arms and defending a set of tents, but for attempting to stay in their homes in the face of banks who steadfastly refuse negotiate with them.  Here are some sobering statistics:

•     Each year, 600,000 families with 1.35 million children experience homelessness in the United States, making up about 30% of the homeless population over the course of a year
•     In any given day, researchers estimate that more than 200,000 children have no place to live
•     A full time worker earning minimum wage cannot afford a one bedroom unit priced at Fair Market Rent anywhere in the United Stated.
•     Federal Support for low income housing has fallen by 40% from 1980-2003
•     15% of all American families and 32% of single parent families lived below the poverty line in 2006

Today we support Homes for Families to protest the lack of affordable housing for the 99%.  Join us for a demonstration at 100 Cambridge Street in Boston at 1 p.m. sharp to protest the Department of Housing and Community Development’s annual report, and to speak to the crisis of affordable housing in the city of Boston.

First, some numbers:

In 2007, there were 36.2 million people in the U.S. (12.2%) living in food-insecure households, with the highest prevalence  among Blacks (22.0%), Latinos (22.3%), people in households with children under 6 years of age (17.7%), and single-mother households (30.4%).  In 2010, that number went up to 48.8 million.    In 2010, 4.8 percent of all U.S. households (5.6 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times, with nearly half of those households having to choose between paying for utilities or heating fuel and food.

This Thanksgiving, Occupy the Hood will be continuing their winter food drive, bringing food and staples to needy families across Boston.  Bring your canned vegetables, fruits, rice, whole grain cereal, granola bars, peanut butter, beans, pasta, macaroni and cheese, canned tuna, pancake mix, baby food, tomato sauce, dried/canned soups, oatmeal/cream of wheat, and help support families in need.

Help feed the Hood!   Bring your canned good and dry donations to the following daily drop-off locations:

• MAMLEO, 61 Columbia Rd. (corner of Columbia Rd. & Seaver St.) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• 201 River St. Mattapan, MA, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Canned food is good — turkeys are even better!   Your donations will go to support the purchase of high-quality goods for families in need.   To donate to support this effort, visit www.blackstonian.org

Food drive is ongoing!   To get involved, contact 617-297-7721 or email occupythehoodboston@gmail.com