What you missed at the August Free Press Salons

Camp Shameless and Elizabeth Blackburn

The August Free Press Second Saturday Cyber-Salon had the theme “Health, Housing and Hope - building a multiracial national movement.” It was on Zoom and live on Facebook.

Watch the salon video here.

Free Press Board member Mark Stansbery facilitated the salon, and introduced the first speaker, Bob Krasen of the Single-Payer Action Network (SPAN-Ohio). Bob talked about US legislation that would pay 100% of cost of full health care for everyone – HR 1976, Senate Bill 4204 – Medicare for All. The legislation has been held up because of powerful lobbyists, mostly Big Pharma and insurance companies, added Dr. Alice Faryna, also of SPAN-Ohio.

They pointed out that the US spends double on healthcare per person compared most of other major industrialized nations. Medicare for All would be much cheaper. It also includes dental, vision, hearing, prescriptions, women’s health, and many other services. It would cover everyone from birth through death, and you could go to any hospital or provider. There would be less poverty because without the cost of health insurance, people would have more disposable income. There would be fewer bankruptcies caused by medical debt. Labor negotiations would not have to focus on healthcare, instead being able to focus more on working conditions.

The next speaker was Ginny Vogts, who has been with SURJCO – Showing Up for Racial Justice of Central Ohio – since 2009. She first played a video from National SURJ about their mission.

SURJ was very supportive during the Black Lives Matter uprisings in Columbus. SURJ worked with black-led organizations. SURJ did frontline duties during the uprisings, and was very helpful, Dave Harewood mentioned.

Now SURJCO is trying to build up the organization again to unite people. Their new project is finding alternatives to calling the police. They are collecting stories and partnering with the Columbus Safety Collective. Bob Krasen noted that as he volunteers with Suicide Prevention he has been wary of calling police. Social workers now ride with police on mental health emergencies. It was pointed out that there is Peer Recovery training as well.

The next subject was houselessness, and the first speaker was Elizabeth Blackburn, a founder and resident of Camp Shameless. This camp is facing eviction Sept. 1st.

The camp started as a warming station run by First Collective volunteers (founded by Gary Witte and David Harewood). It ran until March 29 in the Old First Presbyterian Church then moved outside to 905 East Mound St. It has a shoestring budget. Elizabeth bought tents and got supplies donated. There are lots of volunteers.

She showed a video of the camp, explaining about Saturday 10am clean up day. People brought treats, including Food not Bombs. You can arrange to have a tour - stop by and ask for Elizabeth.

You can donate money at their Gofundme.

Other resources and information:

Mutual Aid

AFSC: How to create a mutual aid network

Other types of donations can be brought to Resource Fair on Sept. 1st.

Some upcoming action items:
Camp Shameless will be calling into Street Fight Radio on WCRS on Sunday evening. Additionally, WOSU's All Sides With Ann Fisher has asked a representative from FIRST Collective to appear on a show about homelessness this coming Tuesday at 10 AM.

Emily spoke next about another houseless tent city that was violently evicted by the City last month. They have set up somewhere temporarily but have no Porta-Johns and are having lots of troubles. She said the City has been hiring Columbus Police to work special duty traumatizing the houseless folks.

She mentioned that the City has lost millions of dollars in tax abatements that could have gone for affordable housing projects.

Unfortunately, there’s a movement in the city to criminalize homelessness.

Salon participants noted the following information:

Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) has a campaign"Housekeys not Handcuffs." Also a Homeless Bill of Rights.

There's a documentary, “Swept Out,” made by a professor at Ohio Wesleyan in 2009 or thereabouts. It focuses on the downtown communities of unhoused folks that the city was in the process of moving.