1st Anniversary Freedom Sleeper Celebration and Look Back

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Date:

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Time:

4:00 PM - 4:00 AM

Event Type:

Protest

Organizer/Author:

Keith McHenry (posted by Norse)

Email:

keith [at] foodnotbombs.net

Phone:

575-770--3377

Location Details:

City Hall Grounds and Sidewalk at 809 Center St. Event to last through the night until 9 AM or thereabouts (the 4 a.m. cutoff time above is incorrect).

Veterans, newcomers, sympathizers, and supporters are called to come together to look back on a year's weekly protests at City Hall demanding the end of the Santa Cruz City Sleeping Ban and related laws.

Slated for the celebration are a gathering, a march, a speak-out, a memorial, and (if possible) an outdoor video. Plus the ever popular sidewalk slumber party where homeless folks get one night a week of cement pillow sleeping with some housed folks there ready to confront vigilantes, security thugs, and over-eager cops.

Food Not Bombs and Gumbojumbo Joe Schultz will be providing food, coffee, and who knows what else. Bring blankets, sleeping bags, signs, high spirits, and friends !

RV dwellers celebrating the delay of the midnight to 5 PM city-wide parking ban in the wake of an appeal are also invited. As are vendors, performers, and other brave activists fighting the latest attack on public space on Pacific Avenue. New city policies criminalize handicraft art, severely limit First Amendment space, and beef up harassment by assigning "stay away order"-happy Parks and Rec rangers to do patrols downtown.

A review of Freedom SleepOut's ##50 and 51 (this will be #52) can be found at https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2016/07/02/18788486.php ("Summer for the Freedom Sleepers").

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/freedomsle...

Added to the calendar on Mon, Jul 4, 2016 2:34AM

§A Few More Details

by Robert Norse

Mon, Jul 4, 2016 5:57PM

Events are likely to start closer to 6 PM on the 5th.

There will be the classic Food Not Bombs DIY street shower available for those seeking relief from the summer heat. Also a DIY commode, since the city refuses to open any 24-hour bathrooms city-wide and is keeping the City Council Courtyard bathrooms locked shut.

Entertainment will be decided by those present, chosen from a variety of options--classic comedy (I heard Blazing Saddles and Life of Brian mentioned) as well as Freedom Sleeper documentaries.

A proposed parade and march through town will depend on numbers, weather, and mood of the multitude.

Folks may be called to vote on a List of Demands to Authorities and Goals for the Freedom Sleepers and allied groups.

Come and celebrate! Bring nighttime apparel plus blankets, bags, and teddy bears!

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§Congrats and Rally for the Right to Sleep!

by Elise Casby

Tue, Jul 5, 2016 6:00PM

Thank you, Freedom Sleepers!
This is the moral issue that most needs to be addressed here in the City of Santa Cruz, now.
I cannot really say here about how important your work is to the well-being of our community in these difficult and increasingly dangerous times. I believe that you Freedom Sleepers are creating and sustaining freedom for everyone when you do this work, and not only people experiencing homelessness. I really can not express my thanks in way that really captures what I believe about the critical importance of your work, and my gratefulness. You have showed me so much in a year's time. I have learned so much from you all. Thank you very much. Hopefully the civil disobedience and protesting you all do will be joined by other people who care about humanity, soon!
I am going to go join you now, and it might take a little while for me to get there by bus!
See you soon in front of City Hall, it is almost 6 pm and I hope I am there before long!
love, Elise Casby!

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