Camping--1 An Introduction (fwd)
P. Myers (mpwr@u.washington.edu)
Thu, 5 Feb 1998 17:28:09 -0800 (PST)
please send comments to the author, as well as to hpn. PatM
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 3 Feb 1998 00:40:23 +0000
From: John Statler <statler@jeffnet.org>
Subject: Camping--1 An Introduction
We had a first planning meeting where visions for camp grounds were
discussed. This series of e-mail messages provides an outline of those
discussions. This is not proposed as complete in any way. Your
comments are encouraged and will be appreciated.
Please: Append, comment, and direct us to resources.
During the Great Depression Paul Schuster Taylor, a University of
California at Berkeley social scientist working on California water
and agricultural labor issues, was instrumental in the creation of
camps that would become known as the Civilian Conservation Corps.
These camps were primarily militaristic in style but were far
superior to the for-profit camps that were taking every penny workers
could earn.
Today we have a new type of homeless population. Our people who are
homeless face an increasingly wealthy upper class, a slightly
diminishing middle class, and an economically abused lower class. The
strictures placed on our economic models since the Great Depression
do seem to have protected the wealthly classes, but not the poor or
people who do not have skills that are in demand.
We think the need for camps is just as demanding today as it was
then,despite the differences. We would, however, like to see camps
developed in an empowering way. To this end we are are holding
a visioning process that includes people who are, have been, or may
become homeless.
In the following list are the primary categories we used to help
define the camps of our vision. Within each category we recorded
key words. Within this series of e-mail messages some of these
categories will be combined:
The Vision
Anti-Vision
Political and Social Structure
Welfare Services and Personal Growth Opportunities
Politics, Administration and Funding
Buildings, Infrastructure, and Sites
Models
Next Steps
I broke this up into several messages because it might be too
overwhelming when a single long list gets published on e-mail.
Hopefully, this format will also make comments easier to make. My
original document breaks each of these categories into a column
which makes it much more readable.
If you would please make comments to the whole list, rather than me,
I think others would be interested. Though if you are shy, one of the
many lurkers, or simply think your comment is inappropriate for the
whole list (like you want to slam me) please send your comment
directly to me.
John Statler Homeless Camps
Peace Productions Not a solution,
1120 Niantic St. A necessity
Medford OR 97501
(541) 770-5524
statler@jeffnet.org