Icarus Collaborates On Wellness Center at Republican Convention Protest

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Icarus Collaborates On Wellness Center at Republican Convention Protest
Submitted by Icarus Project on Wed, 08/27/2008

Minneapolis MN USA Icarus organizers who are part of the North Star Health Collective are teaming up with Icaristas from NY and St. Louis to organize a jointly sponsored Wellness Center at the upcoming Republican National Convention Sept 1-4! Here's their description of the work:

During the Republican National Convention, there will be tens of thousands of people in a large, crowded and unfamiliar city, who will likely be witness to state-sponsored violence among other traumatizing and triggering events. We would like to note that we expect to see more than protesters walking through our doors. All too often, citizens going about their daily activities are swept up in the events on the streets and experience many of the same traumatizing things the protesters do. It is our duty as a community to provide a place of decompression and healing to our fellow humyn beings.

To the best of our knowledge there has never been an organized clinic for mental health and emotional trauma support during a mass mobilization of this size, and we are changing that. We believe that emotional trauma is just as significant as physical trauma, and mental health struggles are often intensified during mass protests and actions. Without a plan to support each other during times such as these, we are likely to lose important organizers, activists and demonstrators. The emotional trauma of past events--such as the 2004 RNC protests, the Seattle WTO protests, and the G8 protests--have been immeasurable and we fear that kind of loss once again.

This treatment and care will hopefully include (but not be limited to), sexual assault counseling & advocacy, psychological first aid, peer support, psychologists & psychotherapists, herbal remedies, shiatsu, massage & healing touch, acupuncture, cranio-sacral therapy, hakomi & sensory motor psychotherapy, somatic therapies, voicework, and other forms of bodywork.

The Wellness Center will be located in the North Star Health Collective Clinic. This large space allows us to provide spaces for service provision, as well as a comfortable, air-conditioned Quiet Room for people to center themselves and escape the tumult in the streets.