'Occupy' camps provide food, shelter for homeless

[Liberal_in_LA]

'Occupy' camps provide food, shelter for homeless

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – When "Occupy Wall Street" protesters took over two parks in Portland's soggy downtown, they pitched 300 tents and offered free food, medical care and shelter to anyone. They weren't just building, like so many of their brethren across the nation, a community to protest what they see as corporate greed.

They also created an ideal place for the homeless. Some were already living in the parks, while others were drawn from elsewhere to the encampment's open doors.

Now, protesters from Portland to Los Angeles to Atlanta are trying to distinguish between homeless people who are joining their movement and those who are there for the amenities. When night falls in Portland, for instance, protesters have been dealing with fights, drunken arguments and the display of the occasional knife.

However, many homeless say the protests have helped them speak out against the economic troubles that sent them to the streets in the first place.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-10-22/occupy-wall-street-homeless/50868444/1?csp=24&kjnd=3F81sdOlaFv7PfHhJPqeVf5myvUtslAGzovJDhQE9PZCiGAIv1LMNSqRq6ub/IiE-00ba5b8a-50c4-44a1-a790-5fd80dfe7239_es9uJBESCt9EVqmgTKEyHkRtkvO4GObwi9%2BHRK9aQQOu%2B9e8dmAWArQ84m/wvbQl

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. K&R!

[MADem]

2. The homeless were behaving badly in Boston a while back. Not sure what the status is now. NT

[elocs]

3. Yes, I read the story here this afternoon, with pictures:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2167790

[999998th word]

4. Mainstream media BS just 'red meat' for the wingnuts.

Effin baggers wont read any further than the 'drunken....knife and fight. They live to hear about the misery of others.

[Omaha Steve]

5. Kick

Sorry I missed this when I could have given this an R!

[OneGrassRoot]

6. That was my first thought when this movement spread. The ability to show compassion...

that's what is being manifested in so many of these Occupy groups. There will be discord of all types, as is the case when groups of humans gather, but all in all, I think they are showing community, cooperation and compassion in action.

:thumbsup: