Freedom Center organizing meetings are at the Quaker Space 43 Center St., second floor, side entrance, Northampton -- twice monthly. Second and Fourth Tuesday at 7:30. Email Freedom Center for more info, freedomcenterinfo(at)gmail.com .

Recovery Learning Community is sponsoring a "Starting Hearing Voices Groups" training with Oryx Cohen, Gail Hornstein, Ron Coleman (UK Hearing Voices Network) and Paul Baker (UK Hearing Voices Network). This is a great opportunity to learn about how to create a hearing voices group in your area and become a hearing voices group facilitator.

Dates for the training are November 12th & 19th and December 3rd & 10th. Download the training application here. For more info, contact Oryx Cohen Recovery Learning Community 187 High St., Suite 303 Holyoke, MA 01040 Fax: 413-536-5466 (attn: Oryx) Email: oryx@westernmassrlc.org

The solicitation ordinance, which if passed would have de facto criminalized panhandling in most of downtown Northampton, has been withdrawn by the mayor's office & the police department from the Northampton city council'sconsideration and is "tabled indefinitely".

A major new study in latest Journal of Advanced Nursing says there is no clincal evidence in research that forced drugging helps people. Instead, the practice is "taken for granted." According to the BBC, "Very few rigorous investigations of the use of coerced medication have been done despite it being widespread, the Journal of Advanced Nursing reported.

The dearth of evidence is "unacceptable" and more should be done to find alternatives, the team said"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7764512.stm

The Hampshire Daily Gazette just did a 10-17-08 story on the proposed panhandling law in Northampton that Freedom Center opposes, and quotes Caty Simon from Freedom Center speaking at a recent protest and City Council meeting:

"It's clear that this legislation does, de facto, criminalize panhandling, if not in the letter of the law, then in the spirit," said Catherine Simon, reading from a prepared statement at a recent council meeting....

Simon, meanwhile, said the homeless and the poor are already the victims of economic violence.

"These homeless people are surviving the best they know how," she said. "Meanwhile, those who wish to stop panhandling do not have altruistic goals in mind - the businesses of Main Street and the politicians that support them would simply like to clear the streets for the tourist trade."

http://www.gazettenet.com/2008/10/17/panhandling-law-looms-northampton-questions-arise

 

Read more about the campaign here.

Caty Simon of Freedom Center is coordinating Freedom Center's involvement with the Poverty Is Not A Crime campaign, to stop the city from adopting anti-panhandling laws.

Get latest info at the Povery Is Not A Crime Blog here.

 

Listen to the recent WXOJ Madness Radio show on the campaign.

Read the UMASS Daily Collegian on the campaign

Read Tommy Devine's blog, with photos and videos of the protest

The Valley Advocate also recently ran a Letter to the Editor from Caty Simon

IndyMedia also covered the protest, read it here

Original Valley Advocate article about the proposed ordinance

2003 Gazette Article about Freedom Center members Satirical "Say No To Shop Owners" poster

Caty Simon 11-23-08 Letter to the Springfield Republican newspaper on MassLive.com

ABC local news coverage 11-23-08

local blogger coverage, including video and Caty Simon interview

another Daily Collegian UMASS store

Here his an excerpt from some of the educational work Caty is doing for this campaign: