Success! Roseburg responds to statewide pressure!‏

October 30th, 2013

Dear ROPnetters:

Monday we put out a call for action to encourage the City of Roseburg to follow through with their commitment to Occupy Roseburg and to put a legal homeless campground on the City Council agenda for discussion. Dozens of calls were made and many emails were sent immediately. By the end of the day Monday, Occupy Roseburg organizers finally got a call from City Manager Lance Colley who was eager to schedule the City Council meeting after months of silence. We are thrilled that the Rural Organizing Project network kicked into action, answering Occupy Roseburg’s plea for support!

Many emails were sent to City Manager Lance Colley addressing why rural folks around the state care about how Roseburg responds. Below is an email sent from June Forsyth Kenagy, a rockstar ROPer with Albany Peace Seekers in Linn County, who ties the struggle back to her local community’s values.

Congratulations, Team ROP!

Cheering from Scappoose,
Jessica

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Dear City Manager Colley,

Just writing to request you put a discussion about city financial support for a homeless camp on your Council Agenda, ASAP! The cold weather is coming. Do you want one of these homeless guys, maybe one who is a vet, to die of the cold?

It is immoral that in a rich country like the US, and a fine county like Douglas, human beings are left to sleep and perform all bodily functions on the street.

We established a home for men, one for women, and a couple apartments for families in Lebanon, but the city did not support us, to their shame. The program is currently struggling to survive.

The need is great. Non-profits can’t do the job alone. They, like us in Lebanon, need city support. Tax dollars should support those who are too addicted, too mentally or physically ill, to make it alone.

The Bible devotes over 2,000 verses to urging those who are well-off to “take care of the poor, the widow, the orphan, the stranger, the leper or outcast.”

How can you do less?

June Forsyth Kenagy

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