A Call to Action for Street Medics, Clinicians, and Herbalists

A newly formed faction of the Seeds of Peace Collective, named Eastern
Seeds of Peace, is committed to organizing medical infrastructure in
support of the expected large-scale actions against the International
Pittsburgh Coal Conference and G20 Summit in Pittsburgh in late
September. This is a call to action for street medics, clinicians,
herbalists, and all those interested in contributing to the medical
support that is crucial to the success of the planned marches and
demonstrations.

In late May, it was announced that both the G20 Summit and the
International Pittsburgh Coal Conference will be hosted by the city of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the same week (9/20-9/25) in late
September. Two groups of activists, the G20 Resistance Project and the
Pittsburgh Organizing Group, have taken responsibility for organizing a
response to these gala events and they have been hard at work for the
past two months building the general infrastructure to support an
activist response to these events.

Eastern Seeds of Peace is working on many aspects of medical support at
this point, including stockpiling supplies, fund raising, planning for a
clinic and scheduling medic trainings, while communicating regularly
with local organizers to ensure our efforts can best support the
upcoming events this fall. We also see this as an opportunity to help
build decentralized, radical medical infrastructure in the Pittsburgh
area that will continue providing care long after the G20 demonstrations
have concluded. But we can't do it alone, and we need people from
Pittsburgh who are interested in medical support to help us build these
support systems and keep them alive over the long term. Just as
important to the success of these projects are folks from out of town,
who can definitely come to Pittsburgh and help provide and maintain
effective support of all kinds during the demonstrations. Trained
street medics are needed to provide first aid support in the streets and
outside jails and detention centers. Clinicians and herbalists are
encouraged to contact us about helping out in the planned clinic and
wellness spaces. Anyone with prior experience training street medics is
needed; we have a limited amount of time for trainings, due to our
multiple responsibilities, and additional trainers would be a huge boost
to our capacity. People without prior training or certification can
still attend a medic training, work as a street medic or help out with
other medical support work.

Even those who absolutely can't make the trip in September can
contribute by donating funds or medical supplies. Our capacity to open
a clinic and provide support is directly linked to our ability to raise
money for supplies and other expenses. Anything will help. Feel free
to contact us for more info on how to donate these types of resources.

There have been many instances over the past year that have illustrated
the continuing value of street medicine in the global justice movement.
Widespread police violence at many recent events, including the 2008 RNC
in St. Paul, Minnesota, the London G20 Summit in early April, and the
Washington, DC IMF/World Bank meetings in late April have resulted in
scores of injuries and a death in London from a police baton. In the
face of such repression, every aspect of support is necessary in order
to ensure the greatest level of safety for all who are involved in
marches, demonstrations and direct action. As part of the street medic
movement, we believe that first aid and medical support are forms of
community self defense.

Anyone interested in plugging in with or contributing to medical
logistics in Pittsburgh should contact us at: medics@resistg20.org.

To join our medic announcement list: click here and follow the subscription instructions.

We hope to see you there!
- the medical organizers -

The organizers:
G20 Resistance Project
http://resistg20.org/

Pittsburgh Organizing Group
http://www.organizepittsburgh.org/

The events:
International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, September 20-23
http://www.engr.pitt.edu/pcc/

G20 Summit, September 23-25
http://www.pittsburghsummit.gov/