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Warm Up Boston

@warmupboston.bsky.social

1K followers 94 following 150 posts

A radical survival program serving the unhoused community on occupied Massachusett and Wampanoag land. ✉️ [email protected] linktr.ee/warmupboston

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Nov 21

Warm Up Boston, founded in 2020, is a radical survival program serving, supporting, and empowering Boston’s unhoused community through solidarity rather than charity.
Learn more on our website: warmupboston.org

#WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #MutualAid #SolidarityNotCharity #HarmReduction

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

Our Venmo is
@warmupboston
and our Kofi is ko-fi.com/warmupboston. And please feel free to DM or email us with any questions, concerns, or to volunteer with us.

Overall landscape of the encampment, including a rocky base path, some camping chairs, and black plastic bags of belongings. Text overlay reads: “LOOKING TO HELP? We appreciate any spare change you’re willing to provide. These contributions go towards purchasing tents and other critical survival supplies for our neighbors. We accept Venmo @warmupboston or via the ko-fi in our linktree”

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

We're able to continue this level of support and increase the efficacy of our weekly distros through mutual aid and we would greatly appreciate any spare change you may be willing to send our way. These contributions would go towards purchasing tents and other vital supplies.

A pile of belongings gathered into plastic bags and bins, including cooking supplies, tents, and hygiene items, which all had to be moved due to the sweep or else risked getting thrown out. This pile comprises the entirety of a person’s belongings. Text overlay reads: “We are a working class organization that fights to reduce the harms of capitalism being faced by the most oppressed members of our class. An attack on the unhoused is an attack on everyone that works for their bread. We’re able to continue this level of support through mutual aid, a survival tactic that the working class has been forced to utilize since wage labor emerged.”

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

-- move while “clean up crews” destroyed their homes. Are bullets and handcuffs a public health intervention?
We are a working class organization that fights against the harms of capitalism. An attack on the unhoused is an attack on everyone that works for their bread.

Belongings in plastic bags are scattered across the ground. Text overlay reads: “Just a week & a half after that first sweep, our neighbors were displaced AGAIN, this time by BU Police and WITHOUT ANY NOTICE. This aggressive sweep started at 6 AM on a Friday morning, upending residents’ living spaces just as they had started to replace their necessities and regain some sense of peace. Cops told residents to pack up everything in 5 MINUTES or risk it bring thrown out. Could you pack up all your essentials in 5 minutes, after being woken up before sunrise by armed men yelling at you?” A quote from a resident: “We’re Human People, we’re Human Beings”

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

The State wields this power through special bodies of armed class traitors with a monopoly on violence: the police and military. We were forced to face this fact during the sweep, when 5 men armed with guns and 60+ rounds of ammunition each showed up to force our neighbors to --

Group of 4 policemen talking only to themselves on the grounds of the encampment. Text overlay reads: “The State wields power through the police and military. This is seen when 5 men armed with guns and 60+ rounds of ammunition each come to force our neighbors to move while destroying their homes. Are guns and handcuffs a public health intervention?”

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

Let us be perfectly clear: the State is an organ of class rule, an organ for the oppression of one class by another. This is no clearer than at a sweep. The State is an illusion of so-called “order”, which legalizes and enacts this violence against workers.

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

Warm Up was able to deescalate some of these verbal attacks on our neighbors, but the stress and trauma from this violence inscribes itself into the body. We were able to enlist help to change wound dressings and refer folks to the hospital as well.

A Warm Up Boston volunteer pulling a large steel trunk on wheels as they help move vital belongings during the sweep. Text overlay reads: “Warm Up Boston was able to physically help residents move their most needed survival supplies and deescalate cops’ verbal attacks on residents. We provided 20 burritos, cases of water, and other small measures for comfort.”

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

Residents of the encampment were forced to stay awake for THREE DAYS in order to have a chance at keeping their belongings. All the while, armed police officers yelled at them to pack up and leave or risk further "intervention” from the State.

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

Warm Up Boston spent $500 and ~100 volunteer hours to try and mitigate the harm caused by this violence. We were able to physically help residents move, transport some of their belongings, and provide food and water.

Three cop cars as well as a truck for taking away belongings. Text overlay reads: “This sweep happened the first week of September. Residents were forced to stay awake for 3 DAYS in order to keep their belongings while being threatened by the police. The “choices” presented were: Leave (to where?), or Be arrested and have all your belongings thrown out.”

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · 9d

SWEEPS ARE VIOLENCE.
This past month, on September 3rd and September 19th, the State spent tens of thousands of your tax dollars to steal and destroy the basic survival items that our poorest neighbors need the most.

A bulldozer and removal personnel with shovels clearing away belongings from our unhoused neighbor’s homes. Text overlay reads: “Another month of state violence: This past month, the State spent $40,000+ destroying everything that our poorest neighbors need to live: tents, stoves, beds, IDs, phones, all...“

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 23

References

Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 23

Administrations can cut funding and limit legal scope, but they cannot stop us from fighting to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Their policies will kill, and we will do everything we can to limit that. Please, support your local harm reduction programs.

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. Sparse red paint splatters adorn the border. Yellow title text reads: "Policies that divest from harm reduction and invest in the prison system are policies of systemic, mass murder." White paragraph text reads: "Mayor Wu’s War on Drugs, Josh Kraft’s even worse “Mass and Cass Plan”, and Trump’s new executive order “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” will, without a doubt, kill people who use drugs. It will disproportionately kill poor people and people of color."

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. White paragraph text reads: "Harm reduction programs create spaces for marginalized folks where community and empowerment can grow. This will always be a threat to fascists and NIMBYs alike. Harm reduction will never be enough under capitalism, as capitalism and fascism cannot survive without one another." Yellow bottom text reads: "And still, harm reduction is one hell of a good place to start."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 23

For those of us who use drugs and those of us who love people who use drugs, harm reduction is a beacon of hope in dark times. Harm reduction came from the people who needed it and has been maintained by those same people.

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. Yellow title text, with white subtext, reads: "Harm Reduction Works! (some of the many successes)". White text bullet points read: "- Syringe Service Programs reduce transmission of HIV and blood borne infections among people who inject drugs [2]
-Injection alternatives (sniffing, smoking, boofing) reduce injection related overdose, illnesses, and injuries [3]
- Medication-Assisted Treatment (like methadone and buprenorphine) reduce opioid overdoses and other causes of death [4]".

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 23

Policy failures kill. The increase of exterminationist policies by both the Trump administration and our local government is killing people who use drugs. Failed policies based in the racist War on Drugs will kill people who use drugs and incarcerate so many more.

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. Another gray sketchy hand peeks in from the top right side; it holds a needle. Three thin yellow squiggle lines "come out of" the fingers. White paragraph text reads: "Harm reduction is a set of evidence-based practices that empower us to reduce the negative consequences that result from criminalized and stigmatized behaviors, life experiences, and survival strategies."

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. A slightly diagonal-skewed title callout, with white text and a yellow underline, reads: "Bodily Autonomy is Key." Paragraph white text reads: "This means we all have the right to make decisions about our own bodies and our own lives.
Bodily autonomy for marginalized folks is in direct opposition to fascism, which only believes in bodily autonomy for an elite few."

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. Paragraph white text reads: "Liberatory Harm Reduction has, from its origin, been based in transforming the root causes of harm in our lives. This includes active opposition to capitalism, racism, misogyny, the prison industrial complex, and other fascist tools of control [1]." A block-color light grey broken chain decal is pictured below the text.

Very dark grey, almost black, background color. Red title text reads: "Harm reduction doesn’t encourage (Or discourage) drug use". Paragraph white text reads: "Harm reduction sees that drug use can have both benefits and consequences. It empowers us to identify patterns and create outcomes we want, focusing on what we want to add or provide, not what we want to take away [1]. For some this can mean a form of recovery. For others it could mean something like more community involvement, deepening connections with loved ones, or improving self-care."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 23

Harm Reduction is a Threat to Fascism 🧵

Gray background color with distressed, concrete-like texture. Sparse red paint splatters adorn the border. A sketchy dark grey hand holding a syringe and needle peeks out from the top left of the slide. Black text reads: "Harm Reduction is a Threat to Fascism. And it isn't Going Anywhere."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 16

Unfortunately, our kit making event will not be occurring tomorrow (Saturday 8/16). We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to folks planning to attend. Another kit making event is in the works. Date coming soon!

Text overlay on top of original poster image reads: "EVENT CANCELLED - Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be postponing this and all future kit packaging events for the rest of this summer. We will be back in the fall!"

Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 13

Hi! I will ask the team and get back to you on this :)

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Aug 13

Thank you for mentioning us!!💕

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

References

Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

Background image depicting a parking lot and road in the winter time with various vehicles parked in said lot. Barren trees branches are sprinkled with snow. A large mustard yellow text box is overlayed on top of that image. Black text reads: "People want to live in homes. While many prefer the relative freedom of encampments over the carcerality and restrictions of shelters, no human being wants to be constantly criminalized by police and forced to move all their possessions on short notice [5, 12]. No one wants to be freezing cold or too hot to survive. People want stability and comfort. While we call for an end to criminalization of encampments now, we call for appropriate housing for every single person in the longer term."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

Everyone deserves a home.

Background image depicting a park area. The sky is blue and sunny behind green tree leaves. Bare dirt ground with sparse grass patches is framed by concrete bridge structures. A large mustard yellow text box is overlayed on top of that image. Black text reads: "People do not disappear. With more frequent sweeps, they will be further displaced from the services available to them, like healthcare and housing support [12, 13, 14]. For unhoused people who live in Boston or Cambridge, this is their home and they belong here we unequivocally reject NIMBYism*. And every sweep is inherently deeply traumatic for encampment residents [12, 13, 14, 15]. Repeated sweeps and increased policing only causes harm.
*(NIMBY = Not In My Back Yard)"

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

Everyone deserves more than survival.

Background image depicting an active sweep happening. People gather to haul away belongings and a bulldozer stalks them on the dirt ground. A large mustard yellow text box is overlayed on top of that image. Black text reads: "If zoning laws and rental agreements allowed for it, many of us would! However, continuing to move people around from camping spot to camping spot will not solve homelessness. Public land that sits empty and idle can at the very least serve as a final place of refuge for those failed by the predatory capitalist housing market. We demand access to ample, affordable, zero-threshold, permanent housing. Homelessness can not be solved on the individual level - it must be solved collectively."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

Background image depicting a snowy park and descending hill with barren trees. A large mustard yellow text box is overlayed on top of that image. Black text reads: "Trash, frequently cited as a motivation behind sweeps, is often bagged and piled neatly by residents. Unhoused people have a vested interest in keeping their communities clean and do not want to live in filth, nor give neighbors fuel for complaints [7, 8]. In Boston, land management does not provide any option for trash disposal aside from sweeps, despite promises to residents to assist beyond directing them to a nearby dumpster. Residents typically discard of needles properly, in sharps containers, when they are able to access them via outreach teams or our distributions."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

It’s important to remember that decriminalizing encampments is just the beginning.

Background image depicting a parking lot and road in the winter time with various vehicles parked along the stretch of street. A large mustard yellow text box is overlayed on top of that image. Black text reads: "Hyper-policing unjustly targets unhoused people, while research suggests there is little correlation between encampments and property crime [6, 9]. Meanwhile, unhoused people face higher levels of private violence and police brutality than housed people do [10, 11]. Though the behavior of our unhoused neighbors may be harmful in some instances, the systemic abuse perpetuated by the state far outweighs that harm. This is a result of the failure of capitalism, and should not be used to stigmatize all unhoused people but rather to critique the system that perpetuates their suffering."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

Scroll to read how science and the lived experiences of encampment residents expose these myths for what they are: excuses to punish people for being unhoused.

Background image depicting a park area. The sky is blue and sunny behind green tree leaves. There is various camping equipment resting on the dirt ground. A large mustard yellow text box is overlayed on top of that image. Black text reads: "There are many reasons why shelters aren't an option for everyone. Limited open hours, lottery-based admission, and restrictions on belongings require guests to trade their independence for shelter. For people with disabilities, pets, or significant others, shelters may simply be unable to accommodate their needs. Studies show shelters can feel physically and mentally unsafe due for a range of reasons: abuse and harassment from other guests or staff, carceral policies, paternalism, poor sanitation, or spread of disease [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Shelters are not a complete solution for homelessness. Encampments fill a need for autonomy and community."

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Warm Up Boston @warmupboston.bsky.social · Jul 22

As encampments continue to be criminalized here in Boston and across the US, we hear the same tired lies recycled from 311 complaints to Reddit comment sections.

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