About

It is our communities, not the banks, that will make the decision whether or not we accept houseless people and people-less houses within our midst.  Because city and state government is unable to address the crisis of housing, we must do it ourselves!

Reclaim! Portland is a collective providing support and infrastructure for people who reclaim and occupy homes, buildings, and land.  Reclaim! believes in the individual freedom to determine one’s personal housing situation.  We support the takeover and use of unused property. We also encourage and support foreclosure defense, as the average American today is often one paycheck away from the streets. We do so on the basis of mutual aid, self-organization, and solidarity.

We seek to encourage, empower, and engage in the disruption of relationships of private property.  Land and homes are not an investment opportunity on which to speculate, but rather a basic human need. Government and real estate interests clearly demonstrate that they are more than happy to continue profiting off the hardships of everyday people. Thousands of people are losing their homes to foreclosure. Meanwhile, real estate speculators intentionally keep buildings unoccupied and contribute to the process of gentrification.  Owners of these vacant spaces happily keep them off the market for personal profit, even though their actions reduce the housing stock and drive up rents for everyone.

Faced with this contradiction, we are implored to take matters into our own hands, by helping our friends and neighbors to meet their basic needs and more. Reclaim! is a part of networks and relationships among housing occupiers, homeless folks, neighbors, and anti-capitalists, because we know that our best defense lies in strong communities of resistance.

Please help us by talking to your friends and neighbors about how vacant land and homes might be better used.  Get a friend and look around your neighborhood for vacant spaces.  Read our literature for ideas and information. We’re curious to hear what you find out.

Still Interested?  Join us for public workshops held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.  Contact us for time/location at:
(email) reclaimportland@gmail.com