Press Conference at 11:00 at Veteran’s Park at the top of State St., behind the Veteran’s Museum.
Occupy Residents Say Soglin Not Progressive:
Wrong on his Statements About OccupyIn the dismantling of Occupy, we had worked hard to comply with the City and police in order to make their jobs easier. In the Wisconsin State Journal article dated March 27, 2012, Lt. Dave McCaw of the Central Police District described the Occupiers as “well behaved” though there have been some minor disturbances. At the same time, by others, it was being described as a hazardous waste site and drug den.
Many things have been said about Occupy, some good, and some not so good. “I feel that some people have been misinformed or even misled. It is not my intention, or the intention of any of the 99%ers of Occupy to discredit anyone, but we would like to clear up all the false rumors and accusations made about Occupy.” said Dan Callahan, a former resident of the 802 E. Washington camp site. Here is a list of concerns:
1) It was said that there were six sexual assaults that had occurred on site at Occupy. According to Captain Gloede, there were no sexual assaults on the site. There were two incidents that were originally reported as sexual assaults, but after investigation, those reports were proven to be false. In fact, one person from the site was able to provide a license plate number to the police so that they could investigate.
2) It was said that needles were found on site. If these needles were used for illegal “death drugs”, then the needles should have been tested and arrests should have been made. No arrests for drugs were ever made at Occupy. There were several people at Occupy that were diabetic that may not have had a proper place to dispose of their needles. The mayor said that the Occupy site was a hazardous waste site and that city employees had various reports of needles on the site. Perhaps if they were concerned about the needles, the public health officials that inspected the site could have provided public health services to the residents there.
3) Police calls to the site didn’t increase until the Porchlight Day Shelter closed down. In December there were 10 calls, 12 in January, 11 in February, 29 in March and 43 in April. “We tried to head off the foreseeable problems ahead of time, but we were told by the City and the police that we couldn’t ban anyone and at the same time were told we couldn’t enforce a no open alcohol container policy.” said Terre, another former resident of the site. “We were set up to fail. We operated with one arm tied behind our back.” Unlike Porchlight, which rented the site for $1 from the City and was empowered by the city to make and enforce their own rules, Occupy residents did not have that same ability. According to Captain Gloede: “Obviously when you look at it comparatively, from an empty parking lot with zero calls to a space where originally a couple dozen and lately up to 60 or 80 people – when you have a congregation of people, it does generate, at times, conflict and issues. So yes, we have seen an increase in calls for service here, but proportional to the number of people staying here.”
4) Several people’s lives were saved by the Occupy Madison encampment. In addition to a community watching over each other, there were resources like cell phones to make timely emergency calls for help. People on the site had seizures, asthma attacks, heart problems, complications from diabetes and other medical emergencies. If they had not been on the site with a group of people, they may not have gotten medical services that they needed in time. “There are still people living in tents all over this city, they are just spread out all over in different places,” said Bruce Wallbaum, “However, now they don’t have the community and services that came with being in a larger group at an accessible site.”
5) Many people used the temporary structures on the site to get on their feet. Some got jobs, some found housing and some got SSI or SSDI while there. Some entered treatment facilities and many are on their way to getting their lives back.
6) Occupy gave working people a temporary place to live. There are people who were displaced from their normal jobs due to different reasons who were only able to get part-time work or work for minimum wage. They made too little to afford housing and didn’t qualify for housing programs because they didn’t need treatment or services.
7) Mayor Soglin stated in the Capital Times “We do not now have a coherent housing plan.” and then later that he’d entertain such a facility (Tent City) only if it were available to Madison Residents only. 96% of the people at Occupy Madison were Madison residents. We did have the occasional person travelling through on their way to or from other Occupies etc, staying for a night and then gone the next day. This wasn’t a bunch of people deciding to move to Madison from Chicago and other places to brave it out living in unheated tents through the winter, but rather Madison area people in need of shelter and services that Occupy supplied them that they couldn’t get elsewhere.
The Occupy encampment wasn’t perfect. In fact, it wasn’t ideal. “If we had the opportunity to do this over, we would do it differently, learning from our past experience,” said Jen Thompson. The real solutions, however, are adequate amounts of truly affordable housing, good paying jobs, medical services, alternative less traditional housing solutions, decriminalization of homelessness, homeless services for those who aren’t a good fit for Porchlight or the Salvation Army and much more. However, while we work towards permanent solutions, Occupy is one temporary solution that did work to provide shelter, food, empowerment, responsibilities and was like a family to many of the residents who didn’t have a family. Occupy was not a place to be feared; it was a place where people who would otherwise be alone were able to find community and a safe place to be. “And love.” said Harold, a former Occupy resident.
