The folks over at Organizing Upgrade have just published Minding Your Scope, Building Healthy Movements: An Interview with the Rosehip Medic Collective. Go check it out!
In this piece, Kevin Van Meter and Benjamin Holtzman interview the Rosehip Medic Collective, a group of volunteer street medics and healthcare activists based in Portland, Oregon. Over the past several years, the collective has developed from being primarily oriented around serving as street medics at demonstrations to providing a variety of in-depth trainings around health, treatment, and care for potential medics and community members as well as promoting greater support for health service providers. Drawing from many healing and medical traditions, Rosehip has sought to invigorate and expand community healthcare from an anti-oppression framework in Portland and throughout the country. As part of these efforts, the collective has also authored three zines: Alternatives to EMS (Emergency Medical Services), Home Remedies for Common Maladies, and Traveling Companions. This interview was conducted in June 2011 in Portland, Oregon with Kat and Ryan of the Rosehip Medic Collective. This is the second in a series of interviews exploring health, care and racial movement. The first installment, an interview with the Rock Cove Collective, is available here.