We are calling a collective action: opening OUR HOUSE Social Centre for a week, publicly taking back the empty property of the super rich – used for profit – and putting it to much better use. And we need you to do it!
****CALLOUT****
We need you this SATURDAY 5th MARCH 10am to meet at Kings Cross Station Entrance to Platform 1. From there we will go to the opening of the space, numbers are really important at this stage, We need solid commitment from people to support the action: banners and people are integral, please confirm if you will be there, and share this with trusted people and ask for commitment too.
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Our House will be open to all, it’ll be a family friendly space, with activities for kids, it’ll collectively hosted, and run for a week in the build up to the march against the Housing Bill on Sunday 13th March. There will be a schedule of workshops and events , music, food and much more! This will be a significant attack on property profiteers, as well as uniting ourselves and supporting those who’ve not yet taken this form of action to do so.
***LAST ORGANISING MEETING : TUESDAY 1ST MARCH 7PM FREEDOM BOOKSHOP, WHITECHAPLE** ground floor with ramp. its really important that if you want to be involved that you come to this meeting, or send a rep – it’ll be the last big one before the action.
Facebook event for OUR HOUSE: https://www.facebook.com/events/743520599082509/
Facebook event for DEMO AGAINST THE HOUSING BILL : https://www.facebook.com/events/973999866019425/ please share these and invite others.
Thanks and see you soon!
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MORE INFO on the action:
While property brokers buy up every square inch of our city, local authorities are forcing poor people to be housed out of London, with over 68,000 people in slum-condition temporary accommodation and millions more on council housing waiting lists. The government’s response is to push through a Housing Bill that marks the biggest attack on social housing provision we’ve ever seen.
To highlight the malicious nature of this Housing Bill on all but the richest, some of us involved in the Radical Housing Network are planning direct action. We plan to set up a social centre in a highly politically significant space. When our community centres, libraries and homes are being taken away, we can reclaim space from the elite. People experiencing and challenging the housing crisis need cultural and creative spaces to share our struggles. And we need space to explore how the right to a secure home intersects with the other things we want, need, and are proud of in our lives – how the crisis affects us all differently, but how we’re all in it together.
Running this space as a social centre will involve a programme of workshops on practical and not-so-practical skills, advice drop-ins, discussions, cooking meals, performances, and a host of other events. There will be an action element discussed and decided at the centre as well. The social centre will run for the days preceding the demonstration on March 13th.[linkhttps://www.facebook.com/events/973999866019425/ ]
Over the last 18 months we have seen a number of successful significant housing occupations, from the Carpenters Estate, to Sweets Way, to the Aylesbury, highlighting the criminality of evicting long term residents to make way for private redevelopments. Now we feel its time to take action within the boulevards and avenues of the rich. We need to mount a significant attack on property profiteers, as well as uniting ourselves and supporting those who’ve not yet taken this form of action to do so.
We are inviting housing groups and everyone else to collaborate in planning and enacting this space, because we are stronger together. We also want to hear from you about ideas on how we can oppose the Housing and Planning Bill, the racist Immigration Bill, the deprivation of NHS workers, and all forms of austerity. We’d love you to join us (or send a representive from your group) in a planning meeting, or let us know how you want to be involved.
If you have any ideas or for events and activties, want to organise one yourself, or are just keen to get involved somehow then please post on the event wall or email radicalhousingnetwork@gmail.com.
There’s loads still to be done to pull this off so please do get in touch!