Talent and Phoenix suffered major losses in the Almeda fire two weeks ago. We worked hard along side the community to provide basic needs and keep people safe in the midst of the crisis. Diverse community members who were deeply impacted by the fire, including low income folks, working class people, Latinx people in Talent and Phoenix are active agents leading, helping, and working, not passive victims.

Many who lost their homes are already back to work, including many who are fighting fires. Our community has a strong culture of caring for one another and everyone is pulling together. There has been an outpouring of support in the two weeks since this crisis began. We can feed and house people quickly when we want to.
Now it is time to work to rebuild and keep our strong, connected, community in place.

Oregon needs our community. We grow and pick crops, serve food, and so much more.

This has been a major disaster. After disasters in other parts of the country, affordable housing has been destroyed and “rebuilding” has focused on creating more expensive housing that doesn’t allow existing residents to come home. We can’t let that happen here.

A huge percentage of people have lost homes, far more than has been reported.
Undocumented families, unhoused individuals, and those who lived in manufactured homes are having a hard time getting government help. Many have no place to go.

Over the coming months, it is critical that we continue to come together to ensure that those who were most impacted by the fire, and who have the least amount of resources to rebuild, are leading the decisions about restoring our community and are not displaced another time.

Efforts to take advantage of the fire to build expensive housing must be stopped.

We need Safe, affordable housing.

It is critical that we all raise our voices to ensure that the City is doing everything they can to keep our community intact, and to get our families home.

CALL TO ACTION!

This Thursday, (September 24) at 6:00 PM, is the first Town Hall meeting in Talent to discuss the Almeda fire and what is next for our community.

The Facebook Event can be found here.

To participate in the meeting, please use the following links:

Zoom link: https://bit.ly/talenttownhall1 Passcode: 090122

Phone:  669-900-9128, Webinar ID: 848 6329 0628

*There will be Spanish interpretation*

There were at least 100 houseless people who were displaced by these fires. They had been asked by the county to “shelter in place” along the greenway due to Covid restrictions per CDC guidelines for houseless community members during Covid-19. The fires destroyed those camps and there are few low-barrier options for these community members. There are some who are trying to say that only people who had houses are “legitimate” fire victims. This is clearly false, but also harmful.

Peaceful campers in Medford’s Hawthorne Park are being arrested and forcibly removed for seeking essential aid and supports after the tragic Almeda Fires.

While other aid locations have provided support to displaced home-owners and renters, Hawthorne Park has been the hub of support for previously houseless residents also impacted by this disaster.

Keep our community together.

DONATE NOW: https://tinyurl.com/hawthornesupport 

At approximately 8:00 AM on Tuesday, September 21, 7 unhoused community members, volunteers, and reporters were arrested by the Medford Police Department (MPD) at Hawthorne Park. Dozens of people were displaced by MPD this morning and forced to find other unpermitted areas to camp in the Region.
Please send a donation today to support those who were arrested as they go through the legal process, including paying for their fines, bail, transportation to and from court, and other needs.

Rogue Action Center and Rogue Climate have moved our office to the community aid site we set up in the parking lot at Talent Maker City.  Please come by to get any supplies that you need, to sign up for a volunteer shift, and to say hello. If you are able, please donate today to keep our work going!

-Team RAC