October 2022
October 2022 E-Newsletter
Special Feature Story:
Stop Killing Us Rally
The sun shone brightly on Capital park in Augusta; cars lined the edge of the park and the state capital building stood prominently across the thoroughfare as signs in memorial of people lost in Maine jails and prisons alongside the signs bearing the title of the event.
Stop Killing Us.
Fourteen lives lost this year while incarcerated and at least 87 deaths since 2012. The speakers included advocates from Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Maine InsideOut, recovery and harm reduction organizations as well as 2 representatives from the statehouse.
The event help space for testimonies from victim’s families, the poetry, dreams, and memories of the people who had passed and urging for change from advocates and social service workers.
The powerful group gathered there celebrated the lives of those lost as well as the indignities and lack of healthcare and negligence in Maine's jails and prisons. Two clear calls to action came from the speakers:
Tell your State Senators & Representatives (who are running for reelection) to commit to NO MORE DEATHS.
The state government and communities need to fund TREATMENT NOT PUNISHMENT.
“Policy makers have focused our attention on punishment and incarceration Instead of treatment and prevention. It does not have to be this way. This is not an intractable problem.”
“We can prevent people at the beginning of these issues and not at the end....so people don’t end up tangling with law enforcement or end up incarcerated or in our emergency rooms”
Let's all make sure that our elected officials remember that incarcerated lives matter and that we REFUSE to let these deaths of neighbors while in state custody continue to be ignored.
Some news coverage of the September 10th event: Newscenter, WMTW and a Beacon article linked in the picture below.
Penobscot County Cares
Penobscot County Cares is a collaborative effort involving more than 35 community-based organization.
Since PCC began one year ago, their collective efforts to raise awareness and call for action have had an impact. The City of Bangor and Penobscot County responded to requests from PCC and others to create a public process for people to express concerns about community needs and indicate how they believe millions in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) should be spent.
The public responded by prioritizing the crises PCC has been working to address: affordable housing, substance use disorder treatment and services for those suffering from mental health/brain illnesses. Through forums and surveys, the public expressed its desire to direct ARPA dollars toward efforts to mitigate these crises.
During a recent Recovery Resources forum hosted by PCC and attended by more than 60 people, the need for greater shelter and permanent housing was raised again and again by panelists. Penobscot County Cares is calling on elected officials to prioritize solutions to these crises when making decisions about the use of millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Join in and raise your voice.
Penobscot County Cares meets every other Thursday at 4PM.
(Next meeting is October 6th, click here to join at 4pm)
To learn more e-mail: penobscotcountycares@gmail.com
or visit www.penobscotcountycares.org
Read More :
Coverage of Recovery Resources Forum
October 1st Article by the BDN Editorial board
Article about other Cities' Solutions to Homelessness
Upcoming Event
The End of Policing:a webinar with author Alex Vitale Thursday, October 20 at 6:30 pm Peace and Justice Center will be co-sponsoring this event alongside: Maine Scholars Strategy Network and the Department of Sociology, Native American Programs, McGillicuddy Humanities Center, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, [all of the] University of Maine, IndivisibleBangor and The Wilson Center for Spiritual Exploration and Multifaith Dialogue.
Peace and Justice Center
Last Month New Co-Coordinators of Peace and Justice Center began their new jobs, Meet Brenna Jones and Josh Kauppila
Brenna Jones (She/Her) is a homelessness activist in Bangor, Maine. She is currently attending the University of Maine in Orono to get her B.A in Sociology with minors in Criminal Justice and Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies and a B.S. in Mathematics. Living in Maine her entire life, she sought out activism work in the Greater Bangor area after being unhoused off and on during her high school years. She is currently acting as the Financial and Food coordinator for the Greater Bangor Houseless Collective. In addition to her activism work, Brenna is doing research through several grants in the Greater Bangor area titled, "Understanding the Socioeconomic Barriers of Precariously Housed or Unhousd people''. Her goal for P&J is to work to create more educational programs to inform Mainers on important political issues by empowering people with lived experience. In her spare time, Brenna enjoys snuggling with her dog, baking too many cookies, and traveling to interesting museums across the country.
Josh Kauppila (They/Them) is an organizer in Bangor They were born and raised in Michigan but have made Maine their home for 11 years (and Bangor for 6) both to continue learning about sustainable agriculture (goats) and to find a more queer-friendly community. Josh has been involved with environmental and other justice causes for many years and more recently is holding leadership responsibilities. They have been organizing with the Maine Poor People’s Campaign for over 3 years and currently serves as a tri-chair. After moving to Bangor while unhoused and in early recovery, Josh has been active advocating and organizing alongside unhoused neighbors with GBHC since it’s founding. A lover of words and justice, a Buddhist (inspired by the Thai Forest Tradition), an artist and musician Josh hopes to bring their skills and passions to this work of building a connected and compassionate community to the Center.
Find Us on Social Media
We will be sharing more of our ongoings on our website and all of our media platforms. Follow us here on Facebook and Instagram.
For more information, email us at: peacectr@gmail.com.
Checks can be made out to the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, or for a tax exempt donation please make all checks out to our fiscal sponsor R.O.S.C. (Resources for Organizing and Social Change) and sent to PO Box 2628 Bangor, ME 04402. If you would like to donate online or set up a monthly donation CLICK HERE
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS!