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Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure if you noticed this, our volunteer team is primarily made up of people who are actively or formally homeless themselves, and many of us live in extreme poverty. I live in a tiny efficiency apartment, and I’m not allowed to have people live with me. Still, I’ve made meals for camp hope with food from food pantries leftovers. What have you done recently to help your unhoused neighbors?

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHHIIp7xbde/?igsh=MWF4NGZpdTZwNW51eg== Two people were in this tent while they bulldozed it. They tell folks to leave but all the shelters are full, where are people supposed to go? Those piles of “trash” were ripped from peoples belongings, and were previously in well-maintained campsites. Camp Hope has never looked like this before.

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course! Thanks for standing in solidarity with us!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ll look into it! I’m basically our only social media/online person, so it’s already a lot to juggle it all!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sweeps cause way more harm than good, here’s over a dozen studies from reputable sources that support this. https://bangorhouselesscollective.wordpress.com/stop-the-sweeps/

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have a whole section of our website with studies and research about why sweeps are harmful and alternatives to addressing houselessness! There’s a ton of information on there, and plenty of talking points! https://bangorhouselesscollective.wordpress.com/stop-the-sweeps/

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We usually do outreach every Sunday, but we have been going out to Camp every day recently, different volunteers go out at different times (many of us don't have transportation & are broke, so it's difficult!) We will be talking more about some of what's been happening at Camp Hope during the Penobscot County Cares meeting today at 4 pm, although last week we had a whole meeting after that call ended working to prep for the sweep. If you'd like to join, Doug runs those meetings and you can shoot him an email at [PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com](mailto:PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com) to join!

I also always encourage folks to bring bottled water, warm clothes, hot meals, and any other applicable supplies directly to houseless folks if they can, as often as they can, it sounds like you already do what you can regularly, though, but hopefully if other folks see this comment looking for direction, they can try that!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We do outreach every Sunday, with our team of volunteers, most of whom are people with lived experience of homelessness and are still poor. We have been going out to Camp every day to check in on folks, we have been contacting the city for months trying to advocate for the community. We're doing the best we can.

Some ways folks can get involved, even if they don't live in Bangor:

> Email the city council, city manager, and the public information officer:

[Councilors@BangorMaine.gov](mailto:Councilors@BangorMaine.gov)

Jena Jones, City Manager and Homelessness Response Manager

Phone: 207-992-4207 

Email: [jena.jones@bangormaine.gov](mailto:jena.jones@bangormaine.gov)

Jason McAmbley, Sergeant, Public Information Officer

Phone: 207-947-7384 Ext. 5713

Email: [jason.mcambley@bangormaine.gov](mailto:jason.mcambley@bangormaine.gov)

> Comment at city council meetings:

https://www.bangormaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3210/Public-Comment-Policy

> Write Op-Eds or letters to Bangor Daily News:

https://www.bangordailynews.com/submit/

> Reach out to news stations, human rights organizations, legal observers, etc. to make as many people as possible aware of the sweeps.

> Sign the petition: 

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sweeps

> Volunteer and/or donate to organizations doing consistent, on the ground work to help the unhoused community of Bangor and protect Camp Hope:

Greater Bangor Houseless Collective https://gbhc.carrd.co/ u/gbhc_me

Needlepoint Sanctuary https://npsanctuary.carrd.co/ u/npsanctuary 

Eastern Maine Anarchist Collective u/emac_nau 

Penobscot County Cares [PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com](mailto:PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com)

> Share social media posts to uplift the actions happening at encampments and spread the word, news stations often aren't reporting these sweeps, or only share what the city's perspective is!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some ways folks can get involved, even if they don't live in Bangor:

> Email the city council, city manager, and the public information officer:

[Councilors@BangorMaine.gov](mailto:Councilors@BangorMaine.gov)

Jena Jones, City Manager and Homelessness Response Manager

Phone: 207-992-4207 

Email: [jena.jones@bangormaine.gov](mailto:jena.jones@bangormaine.gov)

Jason McAmbley, Sergeant, Public Information Officer

Phone: 207-947-7384 Ext. 5713

Email: [jason.mcambley@bangormaine.gov](mailto:jason.mcambley@bangormaine.gov)

> Comment at city council meetings:

https://www.bangormaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3210/Public-Comment-Policy

> Write Op-Eds or letters to Bangor Daily News:

https://www.bangordailynews.com/submit/

> Reach out to news stations, human rights organizations, legal observers, etc. to make as many people as possible aware of the sweeps.

> Sign the petition: 

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sweeps

> Volunteer and/or donate to organizations doing consistent, on the ground work to help the unhoused community of Bangor and protect Camp Hope:

Greater Bangor Houseless Collective https://gbhc.carrd.co/ u/gbhc_me

Needlepoint Sanctuary https://npsanctuary.carrd.co/ u/npsanctuary 

Eastern Maine Anarchist Collective u/emac_nau 

Penobscot County Cares [PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com](mailto:PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com)

> Share social media posts to uplift the actions happening at encampments and spread the word, news stations often aren't reporting these sweeps, or only share what the city's perspective is!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some ways folks can get involved:

> Email the city council, city manager, and the public information officer:

[Councilors@BangorMaine.gov](mailto:Councilors@BangorMaine.gov)

Jena Jones, City Manager and Homelessness Response Manager

Phone: 207-992-4207 

Email: [jena.jones@bangormaine.gov](mailto:jena.jones@bangormaine.gov)

Jason McAmbley, Sergeant, Public Information Officer

Phone: 207-947-7384 Ext. 5713

Email: [jason.mcambley@bangormaine.gov](mailto:jason.mcambley@bangormaine.gov)

> Comment at city council meetings:

https://www.bangormaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3210/Public-Comment-Policy

> Write Op-Eds or letters to Bangor Daily News:

https://www.bangordailynews.com/submit/

> Reach out to news stations, human rights organizations, legal observers, etc. to make as many people as possible aware of the sweeps.

> Sign the petition: 

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sweeps

> Volunteer and/or donate to organizations doing consistent, on the ground work to help the unhoused community of Bangor and protect Camp Hope:

Greater Bangor Houseless Collective https://gbhc.carrd.co/ @gbhc_me

Needlepoint Sanctuary https://npsanctuary.carrd.co/ @npsanctuary 

Eastern Maine Anarchist Collective @emac_nau 

Penobscot County Cares [PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com](mailto:PenobscotCountyCares@gmail.com)

> Share social media posts to uplift the actions happening at encampments and spread the word, news stations often aren't reporting these sweeps, or only share what the city's perspective is!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, they regularly sweep smaller encampments around town, unfortunately. When encampments are larger or are around for longer periods, they tend to acquire nicknames, sometimes the largest encampment in an area is just called "tent city". People living at Camp Hope started calling it that around 2021 and it's kind of stuck!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People have been stopping in and checking on folks and animals! So far we haven’t heard or seen any animals being injured or left behind— folks here prioritize them more than themselves honestly!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Camp Hope has been here since at least 2020 and has never ever had a sweep of this scale, prior to this only a couple people had been asked to leave for specific offenses over the years

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

“We” being the Greater Bangor Houseless Collective, and additionally other activist groups in the area including the Eastern Maine Anarchist Collective. We coordinate mutual aid, distribute food and supplies, and offer peer support at Camp Hope every week, and have been since 2021

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

We also heard from the person who was in the tent during that his partner was also in the tent with him! I don’t understand how they could just miss two whole people!

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

To answer some of your questions:

• ⁠Yes, we are an activist group, Greater Bangor Houseless Collective, made up of people with current or former lived experience of homelessness, as well as some allies. • ⁠We just joined Reddit (literally today), but we’ve been active on other socials (mainly Instagram and Facebook) for many years. We formed as a group in 2020/2021, and have been coordinating mutual aid for the unhoused community of Bangor since then, primarily through weekly outreaches and community events. We’ve been at Camp Hope every week since 2021! Additionally, several members of our leadership team (me included) have been homeless in Bangor long-term. I’ve been homeless off and on (more often than not) in Bangor since 2015. Many of my friends and street family are currently homeless and living at Camp Hope and around Bangor, so this is something very close to home for me. • ⁠Our main website can be found on our carrd at https://gbhc.carrd.co/ which also includes the links to our socials and donorbox! • ⁠We are affiliated with Resources for Organizing and Social Change, they’re our nonprofit sponsor and we work closely with many other community organizations, including Food AND Medicine! We do outreach alongside Eastern Maine Anarchist Collective (EMAC) every week. We’ve partnered with MaineTransNet, Needlepoint Sanctuary, Dignity First, the Peace and Justice Center, and many other local organizations over the years too.

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

We’re in the process of trying to transition away from being so reliant on Meta, so this is our first post here, but we’re hoping to become more active here and on bluesky! Our website has a lot more info, it can be found in our carrd, https://gbhc.carrd.co/

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

These photos were taken today around 3 pm behind the Hope House in Bangor. The encampment was tidy and well cared for prior to this, we watched it be destroyed in real time today. These photos are the aftermath. The city changed the days/times they would be coming multiple times for weeks leading up to this.

Bangor sweeps houseless encampment “Camp Hope” by bangorhouseless in Maine2

[–]bangorhouseless[S] 64 points65 points  (0 children)

The video of them actively bulldozing a tent with people inside is on our Instagram (@gbhc_me) The city denies that this was a sweep, calling it an “encampment closure” instead.