Hi folks. I've had a bunch of conversations with people in the past couple years about organizing a space (ehem, well I'm in Portland, but you are other places...) that could host a growing movement for justice in health and healthcare, and that would hopefully become a part of a network of such resources that would build dual power in liberatory struggle of our communities. I am writing an outline of things I think would be essential to such a space, to bounce these ideas off my friends and comrades to get feedback and see if anyone else is interested at this point.
Things I'd love to see
SPACE FOR ORGANIZING:
- Tools and projects to assess the needs and wants of our communities when it comes to health and healthcare. Community forums specifically focused on building empowerment around these issues.
- Tying concepts and mechanisms of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism to health and healthcare disparities
- building alliance with and among environmental justice, anti-environmental racism, Immigrant health and labor, anti-prison, anti police violence, women's health, lgbtq health, and i'm sure many more groups and movements
-Building movements for social justice inside our professional organizations /networks /workplaces /unions as practitioners, learning to organize with our clients towards harm reduction inside the current systems, and to create systems that actually work for people and practitioners.
- Building support for consumers of healthcare, to move us from a passive objectified role to one that can take action for our well-being.
SPACE FOR COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
- Practitioners providing services in the context of a JUST economy. (Could this mean a different model of payment/ exchange?)
- Learning resources (library, internet, study groups, classes)
- Resource referral guide: this could include all kinds of resources, including healthcare ones!
We in Portland benefit from the fruits of the labor of many many people who organize and work in the non-profit and local government community health infrastructure, which provides important resources for many. The Coalition of Community Clinics and other such resources attempt to lessen the overwhelming harm and neglect inflicted on poor communities, people of color, queer people, trans people, many women, and other margianlized populations... but what we're missing is a place to empower ourselves around confronting the myriad of issues that manifest in our illness, injury, and lack of well-being.
This is what I'm interested in organizing. I would love to see a space that is welcoming and inclusive, that is built by and for the empowerment of our communities, around Health as not just the absence of disease in ourselves, but Health as the presence of justice and well-being in our communities.
Any thoughts?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Olympia Community Clinic Project
What do you all think about this project proposal? What models would you like to see implemented in healthcare? I am not involved with this, but did find some of the aspects of what they're talking about to be resonant with things I've been dreaming of...
http://nwcommonaction.org/?q=node/34
http://nwcommonaction.org/?q=node/34
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