Housing Struggles in Asheville

This week on the show, you’ll hear from Doug, Onion & Papi, three folks involved in the Aston Park Build, a daily event to hold space in Aston Park in downtown Asheville, creating art, sharing food and music and a wider part of organizing here to demand safer space & redistribution of wealth to care for houseless folks and relieve the incredible strains on housing affordability in Asheville. We talk about the park actions, the housing crisis and service industry wage woes, local government coddling of business owners and police repression of folks on the margins.

• Transcript
• Unimposed PDF
• Zine (Imposed PDF)

Related links:

• "New Report Sounds Alarm on Affordable Housing — Again" by Barbara Durr: https://avlwatchdog.org/new-report-sounds-alarm-on-affordable-housing-again/
• "Housing Activists Protest at Downtown Hotels; Demand Council Deploy Relief Funds for Unhoused Community" by Elliot Patterson and Ursula Wren: https://www.ashevillefreepress.com/housing-activists-protest-at-downtown-hotels-demand-council-use-relief-funds-for-code-purple/
• "Community Art Party Leads to Multi-Day Demonstration Demanding ‘Sanctuary Camp’ at Aston Park" by Ursula Wren: https://www.ashevillefreepress.com/community-art-party-leads-to-sanctuary-camping-demonstration/

Supporting Social Media Accounts:

• Asheville Solidarity Network
  • On Fakebook: https://www.facebook.com/avlsol/
  • On Instascam: https://www.instagram.com/avl_solidaritynet/
• Asheville For Justice: https://ashevilleforjustice.com/
• Asheville Survival Program: https://linktr.ee/avlsurvival

Announcements

Sean Swain's Transfer

This week's segment is Sean's statement given to the Interstate Compact Hearing he was to face before the foregone conclusion of his transfer far from his spouse & support base. If you want to write to Sean, for the moment it's a good idea to send to his Youngstown address until his support site says otherwise, but also to hold on to a copy of your letter in case he’s been moved and ODRC doesn’t send back your original. You can find info on how to support his legal campaign (Donations can be made via CashApp to $Swainiac1969), his books and past writings at SeanSwain.org or find updates on Swainiac1969 on instagram or SwainRocks on twitter.

We got an update that the Interstate Compact Committee, during their hearing this week, recommended that Sean stay in Ohio (but they didn't quit their jobs).

Feel free to reach out to the following public officials to express your concern at the moving of Sean Swain out of Ohio based on the word of a former ODRC because Sean spoke out about torture he suffered in Ohio prisons. More details in the statement at [01:04:19] in the episode...

• Ohio Governor Mike DeWine: email form or (614) 466-3555 
• ODRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith:
  • email (annette.chambers-smith@odrc.state.oh.us)
  • phone (614)387-0588
• ODRC Interstate Compact Administrator Katrina Ransom
  • email (katrina.ransom@odrc.state.oh.us or ohio.compact@odrc.state.oh.us)
  • phone (614-387-0809)
• ODRC Interstate Compact Deputy Compact Administrator:
  • email (suzanne.brooks@odrc.state.oh.us)
  • phone (614-752-0829)

Biologica Squat in Thessaloniki

The Biologica Squat at the School of Biology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, has been open for 34 years and is now under threat of attack by the New Democracy government and their new campus police. There are calls for solidarity at Greek Embassies, businesses and other places around the world during the up til and through January 10^th & 17^th of January 2022. The original post can be found in Greek on Athens Indymedia or in English at EnoughIsEnough14.org

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Featured Track:

• Squat Eurodisney by Fleas and Lice from Global Destruction