Occupy Madison To Permanently Occupy For Homeless. Right Wingers Not Happy.

[sabrina 1]

You can always count on Right Wingers to become enraged when anyone tries to do something for the less fortunate. There's just something in the psyche of the far right that makes it impossible for them to have any empathy for their fellow human beings.

I'm not sure if anyone has been following Occupy Madison over the past year or so but Brenda Konkel, a former Madison Council Woman and OWS member has been working hard trying to provide shelter for the Homeless.

Many homeless people joined Occupy encampments across the country and when the crackdown broke up their encampments and State Officials provided nothing for them, OWS did not desert them.

Occupy Madison, eg, has become a non profit, with the intention of buying property to build 'tiny houses' so that the Homeless can feel more secure than they are in shelters or in other temporary places.

After visiting other 'tiny house' villages for the Homeless, in Ore and Washington eg, Brenda Konkel felt this could be a solution for Madison's homeless:



Homeless Advocates Hope Tiny Houses Villages Can Work For Madison Homeless

One impression Konkel says she is taking away from the tour is the role of fences. “Fences are important — it gives the community a sense of security and personal responsibility — and that gives people the right to govern what goes on there,” she wrote.

Konkel also remarks that “people have been able to make the model very successful with minimal intervention from the outside and it has resulted in very few problems in the surrounding community.”

So now, OMBuild Inc. (OccupyMadisonBuild) has raised enough money to make an offer on a piece of land where they would place 11 tiny houses. The homeless will help build them themselves:



Occupy Madison picks east side site for village of little houses

Occupy Madison is preparing to build a village of “little houses” for homeless people on the site of an auto body shop at the intersection of East Johnson and Third Streets. Plans call for the shop to be converted to a workshop where houses would be built and parked on the surrounding property.

Occupy Madison, which has organized as a nonprofit corporation, had an offer to purchase the property for $110,000 accepted, said Brenda Konkel, a member of the Occupy board of directors and well-known affordable housing and homeless services advocate. The property, at 2046-2050 E. Johnson Street, is currently home to Sanchez Motors.

“It’s almost perfect for our use,” Konkel said Wednesday.

Click on the comments after the article to see the reaction to this project.

There are issues that have to be resolved, but for the Far Right, attack, criticize and insult those who try to do some good, is all they know. Imagine if they were willing to help, to find alternatives if they don't like this one, to work WITH people who are trying to do some good. But all they can do is criticize.

One of them stupidly challenged Ms. Konkel to invite the Homeless into her own home if she wants to help them. She explained that she HAS had the Homeless in her home for over a year. No response to that from the smart ass.

Anyhow, she is doing great work along with all those who are working with her and I hope they can get started as soon as possible. People are wonderful sometimes, and OWS proves it every day!

There is a video of one of the houses already built but not on permanent property at this link. They really are a blessing for people who need to get off the street, to be warm and safe.

Group Builds Tiny Homes For Local Homeless

[Joe Shlabotnik]

1. Thats great news

Occupy Madison rocks.

[cinnabonbon]

2. That is amazing!

Go, Occupy Madison, go!

[Enthusiast]

3. I commend Occupy for their efforts.

The righties just want the homeless to die quickly. Because, you know, they're not resourceful enough to deserve life. I hate righties.

[sabrina 1]

4. I have never heard the anti-OWS crowd offer a single suggestion as to how THEY would accomplish

anything. Just useless and mostly incorrect attacks on those who ARE actually doing things.

[Enthusiast]

7. We know what the

anti-OWS crowd is all about. They speak of OWS ineffectiveness but no other single entity does anything to help our cause. If the complainers would support OWS it might help the cause. Sockpuppets.

[sabrina 1]

9. Yes, from the beginning it was clear what the mission was. When you see the same talking

points over and over again, you know what's going on.

[99th_Monkey]

5. Dignity Village in Portland OR has proven this approach to be very effective

DV has been an invaluable resource for thousands of homeless people over the past 14 years, by providing a safe sanitary environment for homeless people to regroup, get the sleep they need, store their things, and live in a vibrant community of peers that is 100% self-governed, while seeking work & permanent housing. Over the years, Dignity has constructed tiny houses, mostly with recycled materials and/or earth-friendly cob or hay bail construction.

Dignity specializes in accommodating those who otherwise typically fall through the huge cracks in the local shelter system, such as homeless peeps with pet, those who are coupled and want to sleep together, etc. and they do so WAY more cost-effectively than a traditional shelter.

Perhaps there can be some long-distance collaboration between these two efforts. For example, one of the key reasons Dignity Village was allowed to develop as it has is that Oregon has an obscure law on the books that waives normal building code requirements for "up to two sites per local jurisdiction", and allows a minimalist approach to codes, similar to what would be required for a rural campground. If this state law hadn't been on the books, the Dignity Village effort would have perished within 1-2 years of it's inception. Madison will need to address this eventually, or it will be plowed under by faux "concerns" about "health & safety", which officials cannot legally ignore; and which the media can easily play to sway public opinion against such tiny house encampments.

Here are some links to Dignity Village:
http://www.google.com/searchq=dignity+village+pics&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mlHYUqqECY3qoATZlYLIBQ&ved=0CCgQsAQ&biw=1387&bih=882
http://www.dignityvillage.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignity_Village
https://www.facebook.com/DignityVillageInc

[sabrina 1]

6. Thanks for all that information, I have to go back and read the article again, but I think Occupy

Madison DID visit DV in Oregon. I know they visited Oregon AND Washington State which also has similar projects for the Homeless.

You are right that Occupy Madison will need to address issues that will surely arise. They registered as a non-profit to avoid taxes and spend as much as possible on actual housing.

That is interesting about the Oregon law. I hope OM is aware of that and has enough legal advice to check out the laws to preempt any problems in the future.

It's obvious from the comment sections that what they are doing isn't going to be popular with everyone.

Another thing they might want to do though to alleviate some of the concerns of future 'neighbors' is to work WITH people in neighborhoods where they might wish to buy land.

Thank you so much for your comment. They do have a blog, sorry I don't have a link on hand. And I think they have a comment section. It might be worthwhile to send them information that could be helpful to them. I will check to see if I can find a link to their blog.

[99th_Monkey]

8. You rock Sabrina.

Thanks so much for your work on these kinds of issues, as it's so needed.

It's awesome that collaboration is apparently underway already.

Feel free to pm me anytime as needed.

[sabrina 1]

10. Aw, thank you. You too 99!

Yes, it looks like they did visit DV so I'm sure they got a lot of information that will be helpful to them in the future and yes, it's awesome to see the collaboration. Maybe there's hope for the homeless after all.

Still, I would love to see our government do something to help the people. They have so many more resources that could probably end homelessness if they put the effort in.

[BelgianMadCow]

11. Awesome stuff. Also reminds me of the Platform against Evictions in Spain, the PAH

which is a 15-M spinoff. They've prevented hundreds of evictions, occupied empty bank-owned buildings and have gotten a legislative initiative on the agenda (which the govt then summarily dismissed, but at least it was put front and center).

[sabrina 1]

12. I didn't know about that but good for them. It's a first step and a big one. They should try again,

and again, until they win.

'Never Give UP'! That's what they count on!