Minutes from Safer Spaces-Medical joint meeting 3/24/12

Joint Safer Spaces/Medical meeting, 3/24/12

Attendees: Anna, Matt, Charlotte, Jessie, Mark, Kate, Abby

Note taker: Charlotte (medical)

Introductions: attendees introduced themselves and their working group affiliations

What does safer spaces do?

• Anti-oppression in OB, trying to make GAs and events more friendly and safer spaces for all people including marginalized groups. Also taken on some of the roles of Dewey’s safety team- ie physical safety.
• Impetus came out of sex offender proposal, but we have gone back to square one of building community so we can then move onto building policies & protocols based on shared community values. Commitment to anti-oppression came out of this desire to be on the same page.
• Some mediation/coordinating response as community wellness did in Dewey
• For a few weeks we have been focusing on safety at april 1st and april 4th events. After that we will talk process, protocols, etc

Proposed agenda for this meeting:

• Safer Spaces hoping to bring a proposal tonight to take up next Saturday GA to talk visioning for a future occupation. Would also like to have part of it be protester health & safety training.-15min
• Joint projects between safer spaces & medics. Action agreements, consent policy, medic liaison to safer spaces.
• How to work with Icarus project. Alternative/radical mental health support.
• Group consents to this agenda

Protester safety training at GA

• who would present, and what information do we want to impart?

• Should non-violence training be included?
  • Non-violence training would drive some people away
  • Some medics are uncomfortable endorsing a training that does not include non-violence
  • Difference between experienced activists and unexperienced
  • Respect for diversity of tactics, Occupy allows all of this
  • Medics give full consensus to participate in this training, even though non-violence isn’t explicitly included and this is concerning to some members.
• Medics will continue to discuss their portion of the training in their own meeting. Safer spaces will do same.

Projects to work on together

• action agreement

• Behaviors that threaten safety on marches
• Medics are trusted w/in OB, and have some wisdom about how to act
• Would proposing an action agreement jeopardize Medics’ tactical neutrality?
  • If someone doesn’t agree with the agreement, will they be less likely to trust us for treatment?
  • An individual who wants to be involved could draft this with safer spaces, but medics as a group wouldn’t be endorsing it officially.
  • Or, an informational document with suggestions from medics on how to maintain safety at an action

• consent policy

• Coordination between groups & available resources
• Some details of exactly what we need are open based on what happens  in the future
• Regular first aid/health trainings for the general public, empower people to take care of themselves

Icarus project

• interaction between medics’ mental health professionals and Icarus?

• Icarus provides “radical mental health support”- what exactly does this mean, and is there potential for conflicting ideas/ideologies with some medics’ background in mental health care, esp. psychopharmacology and psychotherapy?

• Medics clarified that they do not have authority to, nor do they want to, force anyone to accept treatment of a psychological condition. This is in direct violation of the street medic ethic.

• In Dewey medics did not, and in future occupations would not, not detain (“section”, in reference to Section 12 laws) individuals in the medic tent on charges of psychological instability, although we did offer and encourage people to use the space as a place to unwind and speak to a counselor and/or maintain safety during periods of intoxication in some instances.
• Medics would like to be invited to Icarus’ presentation for Safer Spaces. Anna will speak to Icarus about this and pass on info to Medics.