Colonial powers and community showers

Since the first COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in ‘victoria’ in March 2020, one survival service (of many) that has been restricted for those forced to shelter outside is basic hygiene access in the form of showers. While there have been several organizations that have been offering limited access to showers throughout the pandemic, overall these …

In colonialism we trust: Ongoing municipal shenanigans at MEEGAN

In May we wrote about a post exploring some of the history of colonial theft and damage to MEEGAN (aka 'beaconhill park'). The post was prompted by a NIMBY uproar about people being allowed to shelter 24/7 in the park in COVID times, and related hysteria about temporary sheltering being predicted to cause apocalyptic damage …

Municipal government blocks handwashing and shower access

On October 27 we wrote about a grassroots shower initiative started by people fed up with governments' continued failure to make sure that people sheltering outside have access to showers close to where they're living. Raising their own money and doing their own construction, on Saturday November 7 the two community-built showers were taken to …

Grassroots showers

There are so many things in colonial government responses to COVID that are both predictable and also disturbing. Among these is the refusal to make sure that people who are sheltering outside can access basic hygiene like handwashing and showers close to where they are living. The United Nations has repeatedly stated that access to …