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March 22nd, 2021News, Updates & Events |
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Uncle Foods Diner
Meal SchedulePlease note: Day-light savings schedule begins Tuesday, March 30, 2021 |
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 “Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier. I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.”– Sojourner Truth |
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“I live in the United States, but I do not know exactly where. My address is wherever there is a fight against oppression.” – Mother Jones |
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 We [women] are the majority of the population, majority of the electorate, majority of the workforce… and yet we’re still doing majority of family unpaid or low paid labor. And we live longer. Our stuff is not “special interest” stuff. Our stuff is the stuff of the future, of the whole. – Ai-jen Poo |
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News & UpdatesCOVID Housing and Community The Environment The Nation International Journalism Legislation Immigration Race & Social Justice EventsClimateWar & PeaceRace & Social JusticeCommunityHousing |
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| Resources for Asian and Pacific Islander Support • Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO): www.apano.org
• National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum: www.napawf.org
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta: www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org
• Anti-Asian Violence Resources: anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co
• The AAPI COVID-19 Project: aapicovid19.org/resources |
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Jackson County COVID StatisticsCurrent as of 03/29/2021: View updated stats HERE Jackson County COVID-19 TESTING SITES |
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ALERT! All Southern Oregon veterans, not just those 65 & older, are now eligible to be vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine for COVID at the VA SORCC in White City. No walk-in’s. To make an appointment, call 541-826-2111 extension 4440.
https://oregondva.com/2021/03/17/southern-oregon-va-extending-coronavirus-vaccine-appointments-to-all-veterans/ |
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Groups rally against Medford’s proposed camping ordinance
MEDFORD, Ore. — A coalition of local advocates is taking aim at a new camping ordinance under consideration by the City of Medford, one that could have long-term consequences for the local homeless population. Medford City Council began looking for a revised camping ordinance in February — seeking a way to enforce prohibitions against camping along the Bear Creek Greenway and other public sites that won’t run afoul of several relevant court decisions and two bills making their way through the Oregon legislature. Continue Reading … Return to top |
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| Petition Opposing Ordinance Against Houseless People in Medford |
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The Action NetworkMedford, Oregon wants to make it illegal for people to sleep in a tent, even during the winter. This is an inhumane response to poverty and houselessness. Under this new law, unhoused people could spend up to six months in jail for simply sleeping in a tent or lying down in public. Such criminalization doesn’t address the root causes of poverty — it will make issues worse rather than better. This petition asks the Medford City Council to reject proposed changes to its “Prohibited Camping” ordinance. |
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Applications Available to Human Services Agencies
for $805,000 in COVID-19 Emergency Rent Assistance ACCESS, Jackson County’s Community Action Agency, recently received $2,148,707 in State STARR (Supporting Tenants Accessing Rental Relief) funds from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS). STARR funds are to provide rent assistance for Jackson County residents who experienced a loss of income, compromised health conditions, are at risk of losing their housing, or diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19, and/or displaced or unstably housed as the result of public health measures taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19. ACCESS is making $805,000 available to Jackson County human services agencies for the funding period of April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 to be used for Homeless Prevention, Rapid Re-housing and/or Program Delivery. We are also scheduled to receive an undetermined amount of Federal Emergency Rent Assistance funding from OHCS in the next few weeks, which will have a longer funding period. This request for applications applies to for the STARR Program, the Federal Emergency Rent Assistance program and any other COVID-19 rent assistance funding that may be made available in the future. The deadline to submit an application is 5 p.m., Thursday, March 25, 2021. For more information or to request an application, please contact Jackie Agee at 541-774-4330 or jackieagee@accesshelps.org. Return to top |
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Not Just Another Pipeline[Originally Published in the New York Times by Louise Erdrich, December 28th 2020] The expansion of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline is a breathtaking betrayal of Minnesota’s Indigenous communities — and the environment.
 PALISADE, Minn. — My daughter and I are walking along the fast-flowing stream of pure darkness that is the young Mississippi River. We are two hours north of Minneapolis, in Palisade, MN, where people are gathering to oppose the Line 3 pipeline. Patches of snow crunch on pads of russet leaves as we near the zhaabondawaan, a sacred lodge along the river’s banks. It is here that Enbridge is due to horizontally drill a new pipeline crossing beneath the river. We enter the lodge. The peace, the sweetness, the clarity of the water is hard to bear. The brush and trees hardly muffle the roar of earth-moving and tree-felling equipment across the road. The pipeline is almost at the river. Last month, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration signed off on final water permits for Enbridge to complete an expansion of its Line 3 pipeline. After the final section is built in Minnesota, the pipeline will pump oil sands bitumen and other forms of crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wis., cutting through Indigenous treaty lands along the way. Lawsuits — including one by the White Earth and Red Lake nations and several environmental organizations, and another by the Mille Lacs Nation — are pending. But construction has already started. Continue Reading … Return to top |
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The next big oil pipeline battle is brewing over Line 3 in Minnesota [Originally Published by PBS.org, March 6th 2021] On his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. But now, many people in the Great Lakes region are asking the Administration to halt a different pipeline project they believe poses an even greater threat to indigenous communities and local waterways. And as NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano reports, experts and climate advocates say it’s time to stop oil pipeline projects in the U.S. once and for all. Read the Full TranscriptHari Sreenivasan: On his first day in office, President Biden signed executive orders aimed at aggressively tackling the climate crisis, including stopping construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. But now, many people in the Great Lakes region are asking the administration to halt a different pipeline project they believe poses an even greater threat. Thirty years ago this week, the Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota ruptured, spilling 1.7 million gallons of crude oil onto a frozen river near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. If the river had not been frozen, the oil could have seeped into the Mississippi River and contaminated drinking water for millions downstream. Continue Reading … Return to top
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Democracy Now! – Opinion – Ban Assault Weapons Now 
By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan, March 25th, 2021 The massacres in Boulder, Colorado, with ten killed, and in metro Atlanta, with eight killed, are just two more instances of senseless gun violence enabled by the NRA, gun manufacturers, and the corrupt politicians they control. Here is a short reminder of some others, for any who might need it: - Columbine High School, Colorado, 1999: 15 dead, 24 injured.
- Virginia Tech, 2007: 33 dead, 17 injured.
- The Aurora theater, Colorado, 2012: 12 dead, 70 injured.
- Oak Creek, Wisconsin Sikh temple, 2012: 7 dead, 4 injured.
- Sandy Hook Elementary, Connecticut, 2012: 28 dead, 2 injured.
- Charleston, South Carolina, Emmanuel AME church, 2015: 9 dead, 1 injured.
- Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, Florida, 2016: 50 dead, 53 injured.
- Las Vegas, Nevada, 2017: 61 dead, 411 injured.
- Parkland, Florida, high school, 2018: 17 dead, 17 injured.
- El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart, 2019: 23 dead, 23 injured.
- Dayton, Ohio, 2019: 10 dead, 27 injured.
These are just some of the notorious massacres, each surrounded in time by countless others, with three, four, five killed, lives lost in acts of violence that lack the bodycount sufficient to join the canon of American mass shootings. This carnage was wrought with powerful semi-automatic firearms, almost all of which were assault weapons. This is why we need a federal assault weapons ban, now. Continue Reading … |
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Peace House Decries Gun Violence, Racist Attacks; Supports Increased Mental Health Care In this issue of our newsletter we are recording events surrounding two massacres in one week: That of predominantly Asian women in Atlanta, Georgia murdered at three different locations in succession, and that of ten more people killed and more injured in the Sooper Shopping Center in Denver, Colorado. We decry the recent violence of multiple shootings that seem endless. Each one seems to raise one more time the nature of a society that is riven with anger and hatred across a wide spectrum. Meanwhile we see that melting the paralysis of leadership in the U.S. Senate in favor of votes to protect the majority of US citizens could lessen the danger, violence and fear we now live with. Passing safer gun laws regarding simple safety measures such as requiring background checks and banning assault weapons could be simple steps forward. As a nonprofit that was founded in 1982 on the desire for peace, particularly the avoidance of a nuclear war, we have spent our years since our formation concerned about and educating against racism, homophobia, misogyny, colonialism, and war. We champion human rights, food and medical care for all. We believe in using more of the money our government spends on weapons and war for: mental health, education, food security and economic justice. We will continue to stand for and live into the belief that nonviolence is a basic and essential tenant for a healthy and sane society. Elizabeth V. Hallett Director, Peace House |
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CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE KILLING US, AMERICA 
[Originally published in an email from the Western States Center by Eric K. Ward on Feb. 25, 2021]
As over one-third of Oregon went dark in the state’s largest-ever power outage, my thoughts traveled back to the 1990s, to a brightly lit auditorium in Ellensburg, Washington filled with Holocaust deniers. I had travelled over many rural miles in a Greyhound bus, ever-present anxiety my only companion, to enter that auditorium. The only visible person of color present, I already understood deep in my bones how morally repugnant and politically dangerous Holocaust denial was. But I did not yet know that this seemingly fringe conspiracy theory would become the template for conspiracy theories that would dominate American political discourse within the next two decades. It’s time to face facts. The mainstreaming of conspiracy theories in America is no longer merely a war of words or a question of ideological differences. It is a deadly phenomenon that is costing lives. Continue Reading … |
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Online harassment of female journalists is real, and it’s increasingly hard to endure [Originally published in the Washington Post by Margaret Sullivan March 14, 2021] Julia Carrie Wong remembers a time years ago when she felt that being a part of digital culture was fun. “I used to really enjoy online spaces, having a personality and a voice,” recalled the 37-year-old technology reporter for the Guardian. That changed radically several years ago after she wrote on Twitter in support of a journalist who had been targeted by a white-nationalist site. Continue Reading … |
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 The Oregon Senate just passed SB 554A. The bill now moves to the House for consideration. SB 554A will allow cities, counties, metropolitan service districts, commercial airports, school districts, colleges, and universities to prohibit people from carrying guns into schools, universities, PDX, and the Oregon Capitol building. Police (retired and current) and on-duty military will still be able to carry guns into these areas. The only Democratic senator to vote against the bill was Betsy Johnson.Senators Burdick, Prozanski, Manning, and Steiner Hayward made excellent comments during the session and expertly fended off criticisms from Republicans. In their fervent talk of self-defense, Republican senators failed to mention that Oregon does not require concealed license applicants to own or even touch a gun to receive a CHL. State law does not require any hands-on training for people to carry loaded, hidden guns into kindergartens, airports, or the Capitol. Fortunately, Senator Prozanski reminded his fellow senators of Oregon’s poor training requirements. Guns aren’t just “point and click.” Learn more about SB 554A on Ceasefire Oregon’s webpage and stay up to date on all firearm-related legislation here. |
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| | The Constitution promises us government of, by, and for the people. Yet right now, that promise is threatened by lawmakers in state legislatures across America — who are pushing over 250 bills in 43 states that would make it harder for Americans to vote. ‘For the People’ should never mean shutting Americans out of the governing process. It should never mean corporations and special interests buying the election outcomes they want. And it should never mean hours-long lines to vote; blocking Americans from casting a ballot; or throwing Americans off of voter rolls. That’s why I’ve teamed up with Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), to introduce the For the People Act, groundbreaking legislation to confront voter suppression, dark money, and partisan gerrymandering in order to restore the promise of our ‘For the People’ government. And today, Senator Klobuchar and I led a group of our colleagues in talking about the legislation and what ‘For the People’ should really mean: a government where every American — regardless of what they look like, where they live, or how much money they make — has a voice. 
Click here to listen to our speeches on the Senate floor. Return to top
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 Six months after the catastrophic wildfires that destroyed over 2,500 homes in the Rogue Valley, many residents are experiencing issues with their insurance claims and need expert guidance to navigate through negotiations and disputes. I am teaming up United Policyholders, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, to provide guidance and support for wildfire survivors with problems or questions regarding insurance claims. After hearing from constituents with insurance issues that hinder their recovery, it has become apparent that we need long-term fixes so that the next time disaster strikes, Oregonians can expect better insurance flexibility and more consumer protections. I have proposed HB 3272 to help resolve these issues. Learn more here about the events and the bill: |
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The Chinese Contribution to Southern Oregon During a formative period in southern Oregon’s history, immigrants from China were one of the largest ethnic groups in the area’s population. Their hard work contributed much to the economic and social development of the region, but they endured considerable racist prejudice, and their contributions were often ignored. Today, as anti-Chinese bias afflicts our society again, it is time to remind ourselves of the contributions of early Chinese settlers and what they accomplished. This is the first of a two-part look at the Chinese presence in southern Oregon.
— Adapted from, A Short History of Tolerance in the State of Jefferson, an unpublished Peace House manuscript.
_______ (Photo: The Wah Chu Family on their porch of their house on Ashland’s A and Second Streets. Mr. Wah Chung also oversaw all the Chinese laborers from Dunsmuir, CA to Roseburg, OR for railroad, hotel and restaurant workers. Mrs. Wah Chung, also named Wong Soo Lue, ran a store and had a boarding house for thirty-five Chinese laborers. (Information provided by the Southern Oregon Historical Society)) For centuries, Chinese people have been living and working outside China, fleeing natural disasters, political repression, civil wars, hunger, and poverty in China, just as other emigrant groups have done elsewhere. Groups of Chinese settled in western Mexico under Spanish rule in the late sixteenth century, and Chinese accompanied expeditions to Texas and California in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Chinese carpenters worked for the British-based Hudson’s Bay Company on Vancouver Island in the late 1700s. When news of the 1848 California gold strike reached China, thousands of young and middle-aged peasants borrowed money or accepted indentured work agreements with Chinese contractors to gain ship passage to California. From there, many followed the gold rush northward through the Trinity Mountains, Yreka, and the Klamath River, Rogue, and Applegate valleys. Continue Reading … |
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 Viet Thanh Nguyen on Roots of Anti-Asian Hate (Transcript excerpt taken from Democracy Now interview, March 22, 2021) AMY GOODMAN: Professor Nguyen, it’s great to have you back on Democracy Now! Congratulations on your new book! And condolences on the horror that has taken place in Atlanta, which is not just a horror for the Asian American community, but clearly for all of us. If you can talk about the significance of what happened and also the point you make in this op-ed in The Washington Post, where you say, “Bipartisan political rhetoric about Asia leads to anti-Asian violence here”? VIET THANH NGUYEN: Hi, Amy. Thanks so much for having me back again and to speak on this really tragic topic. I spent the last week talking to a lot of fellow Asian Americans. We’re all, I think, in a state of anger and despair about what happened, and, I think, partly because, for many of us, we recognize that this is not anything new. As I’ve spoken about repeatedly, and as have so many others, the history of anti-Asian violence in this country goes back to as long as we’ve had Asian immigrants in this country, that Asian immigrants have been brought here to have their labor exploited. And to have that labor exploited, it’s often couched in a language and a justification of racism and sexism. Continue Reading … |
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Ibram X. Kendi to Give Virtual Lecture at OSU (Photo/Stephen Voss) Ibram X. Kendi, a National Book Award winner, historian and leading antiracist voice in America, will give a virtual talk April 14 as part of Oregon State University’s Provost’s Lecture Series. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of several books, including “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. “We are honored to host Professor Ibram X. Kendi, one of America’s most influential scholars of race,” said OSU Provost and Executive Vice President Edward Feser. “His work speaks to our moment. Prof. Kendi’s recent book, “How to be An Antiracist,” explores some of the most profound and intersecting implications of race and racism, culture, class, and more. The book is timely, accessible, and often very personal. Dr. Kendi challenges all of us to engage in self-reflection, interrogate core assumptions, and take direct action to fight racism in all its forms.” The talk, “An Evening with Ibram Kendi in Conversation About How to Be an Antiracist,” is free and open to the public. It will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. on Zoom and requires advance registration. To sign up visit: https://beav.es/JNq. Kendi is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News correspondent. He is the 2020-2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Among his other books are “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019” (with Keisha Blain), “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” (with Jason Reynolds), “Antiracist Baby” (with illustrations by Ashley Lukashevsky), and “The Black Campus Movement.” His next book, “Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection, and Action,” will be released in October. |
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Recovering a forgotten piece of Portland’s baseball history, the Rosebuds 
[Originally published on opb.org by Donald Orr March 13, 2021] If you ever find yourself at Northwest 25th and Vaughn Street in Portland, at first you might think the area is pretty unassuming: there’s a mix of industrial properties, houses and apartments in the neighborhood. Hotels are within view further down the street, and the Adidas store attracts shoppers from around the metro area just a few blocks away. But at the same spot 75 years ago, Portland’s baseball teams stepped up to the plate at Vaughn Street Park, a 12,000-seat wooden stadium in the Slabtown district. Demolished in 1956 as a fire hazard, what’s left of the park today is a commemorative plaque that commemorates two teams from the annals of Portland’s baseball history, the Portland Webfooters and the Portland Beavers. Continue Reading … |
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Monday, March 29 from 8:30 – 9:00 am Jefferson Exchange will feature our monthly SOCAN meeting guests – Asma Mahdi and Cecilia Estolano. This can be heard live from 8:30-9:00 am or the recorded version from 8:00 – 10:00 pm on the News and Information Service. |
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SOCAN March Monthly Meeting Bringing Social Equity to Climate AdvocacySpeakers
Asma Mahdi, Policy Director, Better World Group
Cecilia Estolano, CEO and Founder, Estolano Advisors
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm via zoom
Registration required, but no charge
(After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link to join the event and reminders) What does “climate equity” mean? Does an equity focus detract from or strengthen climate advocacy? Does it make a difference? What is meant by the phrase “just transition”? How can we infuse social equity into our climate policy advocacy? Cecilia Estolano, CEO and Founder of Estolano Advisors, and Asma Mahdi, Policy Director of Better World Group, authors of the December 2020 “State of Oregon Climate Equity Blueprint”, will join us by Zoom to help us work to achieve a more equitable, climate-adapted future. While we all face the looming threats of climate change, communities of color, tribal communities and rural Oregonians are on the frontlines of this existential threat. The Almeda and South Obenchain fires were vivid examples of this reality, as many of the hardest hit residents were from historically marginalized and disadvantaged communities. To compound the devastating impacts of the fires, there are very-real risks that these residents will be unable to stay as our communities rebuild. At the same time, Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-04, the Oregon Climate Action Plan (OCAP) is shining a spotlight on climate and environmental justice and new legislation has been introduced to incorporate an “equity lens” into multiple levels of state climate policy. SOCAN meetings are free and open to the public.
Updates on the SOCAN Calendar |
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United for Peace and Justice
The recent entry into force of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons brought a welcome positive moment to a bleak disarmament landscape. But none of the nuclear-armed states have joined the Treaty, and all are expanding or modernizing their nuclear arsenals. Peace and justice advocates must respond! JOIN THE UFPJ WEBINAR featuring three internationally recognized advocates for nuclear abolition.
Tuesday, March 30, 2021: 8:00 – 9:30 pm EDT; 7:00 – 8:30 pm CDT;
6:00 – 7:30 pm MDT; 5:00 – 6:30 pm PDT
Click here to register. The webinar will provide an update on nuclear weapons policies and programs and an overview of relevant developments in international law. It will also expand thinking on the need to rethink familiar approaches to disarmament and to shift the focus of disarmament advocacy from recognizing the effects of nuclear weapons to analyzing the causes of nuclear arms racing and the risks of war among nuclear-armed countries. How do the same root causes drive many of our most pressing crises? UFPJ is pleased to host this webinar featuring three internationally recognized advocates for nuclear abolition. Click here to register. |
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Sign up now for FREE informative, fascinating four-session course on nuclear weaponsWhat You Can Know and Do ”This FREE four-session course is informative and fascinating! Sign up now to take it either in MAY or in JULY 2021 (your choice of Tuesdays or Saturdays in either month). This four-session course presents the serious information in a supportive environment and also lifts up some positive ways people can solve the problems. We go far beyond “doom and gloom” to actually empower people to support the solutions. |
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Healing America’s Racial Karma
A Conversation with Larry Ward and Ito Center Director Duncan Ryuken WilliamsSunday, April 4th, 2021 2-4pm Pacific Cp-Sponsored by the USC Dornsife Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Cultures Is there a Buddhist approach to acknowledging and transforming America’s enduring racial karma? Larry Ward – senior Dharma teacher ordained by Zen Master Thich That Hanh and founder of the Lotus Institute – will share insights from his recently released book America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal on how to break the nation’s cycles of racial trauma. In conversation with Ito Center Director Duncan Ryuken Williams. |
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 Larry Ward (pronouns- he/him) is a senior teacher in Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition and the author of the book America’s Racial Karma. Dr. Ward brings 25 years of international experience in organizational change and local community renewal to his work as director of the Lotus Institute and as an advisor to the Executive Mind Leadership Institute at the Drucker School of Management. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation. |
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WED, APR 7, 7pmHonduras: Repression, Corruption, Caravans and Narco-Dictators
Why people can’t survive in Honduras, and what the US can do about it!
Dr. Dana Frank, a history professor at UC Santa Cruz, is an expert on Honduras and Honduras/US relations. She explains the current situation: why people are fleeing, the role of the US in supporting the narco-dictatorship, and legislative proposals pending in the US House and US Senate that would cut support to Honduran police/military, as well as to President Juan Orlando Hernández.About Professor Dana Frank: Dr. Dana Frank is Professor of History at UC Santa Cruz. She is a leading scholar of U.S. labor history, with research interests in working-class history, banana workers in Latin America, and modern Honduran history and contemporary Honduras. She is author of “Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America” (2005) and co-author (with Howard Zinn and Robin D.G. Kelley) of “Three Strikes: Miners, Musicians, Salesgirls and the Fighting Spirit of Labor’s Last Century” (2001). She is currently researching the AFL-CIO’s Cold War in Honduras, 1954-1979. |
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Deconstructing Whiteness – A Learning Space A grassroots, community offering White folks becoming white aware – A first step in dismantling racism 
INVITATION: See below for more about our new, nor intimate Cohort. For folks who want to learn and un-learn the patterns of whiteness, of privilege, dominance, and fragility, in the company of others on the path of anti-racism work. Please join our mailing list for the most current information on our offerings. RSVP: To receive the Zoom link for specific monthly offerings, RSVP here. INTENT: This space is primarily for self-identified white folks, to do the necessary work of deconstructing whiteness. A space is offered to feel discomfort, make mistakes, to examine biases and experiences in a supportive atmosphere. GOAL: To come away with actionable items for our own lives that eventually create a safe and welcoming community for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. DATES & FORMAT: A new format for 2021, general events (open to all) will occur every other month, starting February 25. Offerings are held every 4th Thursday of the month, 6:30-8:30 PM. Alternating months, starting March 25, will offer the opportunity for work with a more intimate cohort. The format for both consists of a topic, videos, experiential exercises, reflective writing, sharing, and connecting. To participate in the Cohort please complete this sign up form before Thursday, March 23! General offerings: April 22, June 24, August 26, October 28, 2021 Cohort offerings: May 27, July 22, September 23, November 18 (third Thursday!) All offerings 6:30-8:30 PM via Zoom. |
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You can significantly develop your skills – and gain new resources – so you can make big progress on issues you care about (climate, peace, environment, human rights, economic justice, etc., etc., etc.) Please sign up now for my series of FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS every week for 6 consecutive weeks starting in mid-March. - Sundays afternoons March 21 to April 25 (1:30-3:30 pm Pacific Time), OR
- Monday evenings March 22 to April 26 (6:30-8:30 Pacific Time).
These workshops are FREE and user-friendly. They are good for people of ALL ages and ALL levels of experience. People who have taken these workshops have found them informative, inspiring, and practical. |
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Housing Now, AshlandFellow activists, May Day is quickly approaching and is traditionally a day commemorating the continued struggle of working people everywhere to survive and transform the world. We are working to organize an outdoor gathering or demonstration on May 1st, and we want you to join us. The purpose of the rally is to demonstrate solidarity with workers and with struggles for progressive change. We invite you to join us for a planning meeting on Saturday, April 3, 2021, at the Ashland Lithia Park bandshell, 3 p.m., rain or shine. Through networking we are stronger together. |
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Jackson County Virtual F.E.A.S.T. Oregon Food Bank’s Community FEAST (Food, Education, Agriculture, Solutions, Together) program provides an event to help communities listen, organize, and act to improve their local food system. Each community is unique and is in the best position to identify its own challenges and opportunities. FEAST creates the space for community members to engage in a facilitated discussion and begin to work towards solutions to build a more equitable and resilient local food system.
Series of three Community Conversations on April 7, April 21, and May 5 from 5-7 pm facilitated via Zoom – inviting diverse community food systems stakeholders to the table to share experiences and ideas, and deepen our understanding of our Jackson County food system. Each meeting will include panelist presentations, followed by group discussions. The goal of FEAST is to mobilize community collaborative efforts to identify and implement food systems improvement projects. Register here. |
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 The Caucus will look a bit different this year, focused on reflecting on the work rural Oregonians have done for human dignity and democracy over the last year and planning for the year of community organizing to come! Rural Caucus & Strategy Session Schedule: May 15th, 2021 9-10:30 am PST: Building Community in the Time of COVID: Reflecting on 2020, Planning for 2021 11 am-12:30 pm PST: Organizing for Everyone: Tried & True Tools for Rural Organizers Build your skills as a rural community organizer and add tools to your organizing toolbox! 1-2:30 pm PST: Defending Our Communities from Detention & Deportation Join us to learn more about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, ways we can protect each other in at-risk locations like food banks, document rights violations to help with legal defense. 5:30-8 pm PST: Closing Celebration: A Performance and Conversation with OUT Dance Project ROP is committed to making participation in the Rural Caucus & Strategy Session as accessible as possible! Reach out to us at office@rop.org with any input or questions! We know there’s nothing quite like the magic of being together in person and the little conversations you have over lunch that spark big ideas. We have started tentatively dreaming about being together in person again before long, and are exploring a possible in-person Caucus this Fall if it’s safe to gather! |
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Rogue Valley Housing Solutions |
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How can we live and own property together as families and friends? |
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Cohousing brings people together by: *Creating more affordable housing *Being co-designed and co-created within the group *Having common areas that support community interaction *Making senior housing a supportive experience |
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| Tuesday, March 30th at 11:00AM |
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| Charles Durrett of the Cohousing Company |
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 Charles Durrett is the leading expert in Cohousing and established The Cohousing Company to help neighborhoods learn to make decisions together for the benefit of the community. The Cohousing Company has adapted its cohousing design experience to affordable housing developments and senior neighborhoods. Durrett and his team at The Cohousing Company have designed more than 50 cohousing communities in the United States and around the world. |
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Charles will show us how to create affordability and community through cohousing. |
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Attend the ongoing Zoom Series Every Tuesday at 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
For quick access: zoom link here |
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