[Squat!net]

Coalition of Woodwards Squatters and Supporters
Corner of Abbott and Hastings St. Vancouver, BC
Phone (604) 682-2726 FAX (604) 687-4347

September 30th 2002

Dear Friends,

We the Woodwards Squatters are struggling to sustain our presence outside the Woodwards Building in our fight for social housing and we need your help.

Last night our security team counted 125 squatters, homeless, and their supporters, sleeping around the building. Everyday our numbers grow which is both exciting, but also increases our need for more resources.

We need your support in the form of donations (see list below). In return for your help, we will add your name to the list of our endorsers and supporters in our upcoming poster campaign, press conference and website. Anonymous donations are also respected.

Any resources you can contribute would greatly benefit the cause and society as a whole. Join the supporters in your community by supporting the Woodwards Squat.

How to help: There are two ways you can contribute: 1. Bring down your donations, or 2. Items can be picked up.

1. Bring down your donations:
Donations can be brought down directly to the squat at the corners of Abbott and Hastings, or to the office at #42 Blood Alley PH (604)682-2726

2. Items can be picked up:
If you need help getting your donation down to us, just call us (604)682-2726 and we will co-ordinate a pick up.

Things we need (ongoing):

Food and Spices
Blankets, sleeping bags, etc.
Water, Juice, Coffee
Pillows, Quilts
Large cooking pots
Warm jackets, sweaters, socks
Disposable dishes and cutlery
Mattresses, foam pads and tents
Fuel-Fed Cooking Stoves and Fuel
Tarps and Rope
Cleaning supplies
Rolls of Plastic
Art materials (paint, markers, large rolls of paper etc.)
Hammers, pliers, nails etc.
Money for cooking materials and security (radios etc.)
Staple guns
8 1/2 x 11 and 11x 17 paper
Computer, printer
Ongoing photocopying access
Toilet paper, tampons and napkins
Soap, towels and toiletries

We appreciate your support towards the fight for social housing.

In Solidarity,

The Woodwards Squatters

Name of Business / Non-Profit Organization
___________________________________________

Address
___________________________________________

Phone, Email, Fax
___________________________________________

Items Donated
___________________________________________

Date
___________________________________________

“Friends of the Woodwards Squat” <violetta_sera [at] hotmail [dot] com>

THE “WOODWARD’S 58” NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

In the early morning hours of Saturday, September 22, 2002, the Vancouver Police Department Riot Squad stormed into the Woodward’s squat which homeless people and their supporters had been occupying since the previous Saturday. 58 people were arrested and charged with violating a Supreme Court injunction.

The squatters and their supporters have to return to court November 7, 2002 to face civil contempt charges. The two lawyers who have so far represented us cannot possibly handle all of our cases themselves. THEREFORE, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE RAISE SUFFICIENT FUNDS FOR OUR LEGAL DEFENCE. PLEASE DONATE WHATEVER YOU CAN TO THE “WOODWARD’S 58 LEGAL DEFENCE FUND” AND ASK YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS, UNION, HOUSING CO-OP, CHURCH OR COMMUNITY GROUP TO DO THE SAME.

Please make checks payable to the “People’s Opposition” and write “legal defence” on them. Checks can be mailed to:

Woodward’s 58 Legal Defence
c/o Anti-Poverty Committee
42 Blood Alley Square
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6B 1C7

Gordon Flett <gflett1 [at] shaw [dot] ca>

Hi. Here’s a forwarded message about the Woodwards Squat – The Woodwards Squat in Vancouver, an insurrectionary anarchist analysis Monday, September 16, 2002 On Saturday, September 14, 2002, a group of homeless people and community members occupied a huge department building in Vancouver’s Downtown +Eastside that has been vacant for 9 years. During that time various different community groups and agitators have fought to have the building +converted into social housing, only to have the government agree, and then go back on their promise. The old ?Woodwards building? takes up an +entire city block. The Downtown Eastside is the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, and with the current Liberal government’s cuts to social services, social +housing, welfare, and the lowering of the minimum wage, poverty and homelessness are growing; class contradictions are deepening. >Out of this desperate situation, a group of people have squatted the enormous old department building and plan to stay their until it becomes +social housing. Many people have set up camp outside the building and donations of food, mattresses and other essentials have been pouring +in. Banners have been hung from the windows, the sides of the building, and the large ?W? on the rooftop. Woodwards is owned by British Columbia Housing, and the government is threatening to get an injunction to evict the squatters because of +”saftey issues”. ?We have moved into what we consider to be our building? said one of the squatters. As of Monday morning, September 16, 2002, the squatters are still occupying Woodwards. The squat is now into its third day. In our analysis, this action has become possible not only because of the growing divide between the rich and the poor in this province. The +determination of the squatters to finally take action, at risk to themselves, should not be overlooked. The Woodwards building has been +fought for year after year. A range of more conservative community groups as well as direct action organizations have struggled, using +various tactics, to force the government to convert the building into housing. After 9 long years, the building is occupied. The potential is +enormous. Hundreds of homeless people could occupy and use the building. An autonomous social centre could develop. The nature of this +action, in finally squatting this landmark building, will surely lift the morale of the community and hopefully, spread an insurgent attitude +among the exploited and excluded. Currently, security concerns, experiments in self-organization, and the instability of the situation mean that everything is still ?up in the +air?. In our view, the fact that this action was not taken exclusively by ?career activists? is very positive. At the same time, an organizational +structure must develop which is informal, egalitarian, and confrontational to the State. It remains to be seen whether this will occur. It +largely depends on the ability of different social sectors to unite around this struggle in a decentralized way. The task for anarchists, as +always, is to contribute their own methods and tactics of resistance to the larger body of the exploited. Insurrectionary Anarchists of the Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver) check for new info – http://vancouver.indymedia.org

[squat!net]

Vancouver, Canada, September 16, 2002

On Saturday, September 14, 2002, a group of homeless people and activists occupied a huge department building in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that has been vacant for 9 years. During that time various different community groups and activists have fought to have the building converted into social housing, only to have the government agree, and then go back on their promise.

The Downtown Eastside is the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, and with the current Liberal government’s cuts to social services, social housing, welfare, and the lowering of the minimum wage, poverty and homelessness are growing.

Out of this desperate situation, a group of people have squatted the enormous old department building and plan to stay their until it becomes social housing. Many people have set up camp outside the building and donations of food, matresses and other essentials have been pouring in. The building is owned by the British Columbia Housing, and the government is threatening to get an injuction to evict the squatters because of “saftey issues”.

As of Monday morning, September 16, 2002, the squatters are still occupying Woodwards.

For pictures and updates check – http://ontario.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=12087&group=webcast

sabate <sabate [at] ziplip [dot] com>