![]() ### For Immediate Release THE STAY PROJECT INVITES YOU TO THE 6TH ANNUAL STAY SUMMER INSTITUTE Contact: Lou Murrey or Kendall Bilbrey Tel. 828-773-1969 or 276-620-9264 Email: stayproject@gmail.com Date: 06/28/2016 The 6th Annual STAY Summer Institute will take place July 22nd-25th, 2016 at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. The STAY Summer Institute is a 4 day, regional gathering hosted by The STAY (Stay Together Appalachian Youth) Project providing creative gathering space for youth with leadership development, cultural sharing, political analysis, and kinship with youth from across the Appalachian region at the forefront. This weekend in the mountains will include youth designed & facilitated workshops across many topics, full-group activities around art, music, storytelling, and political discussion led and facilitated by youth, and identity caucus space for youth of color and LGBTQIA youth. Anyone aged 14-30 living in Appalachia is encouraged to sign up for this weekend of learning, empowerment and fun! To register for the STAY Summer Institute visit our website www.thestayproject.com/register-for-stay-summer-institute. The cost for 4 days of lodging, meals, and events is a sliding scale up to $160 total, with partial or full scholarships available on a first come, first serve basis. Please indicate on your registration if you need a full or partial scholarship as soon as possible. The registration deadline is July 15th, 2016. About The STAY Project: The Stay Project is a diverse regional network of young people working together to create, advocate for, and participate in safe, sustainable, engaging and inclusive communities throughout Appalachia and beyond. To learn more or if you have any questions please visit www.thestayproject.com or email us at stayproject@gmail.com. ###
0 Comments
Letcher Governance Project holds silent protest at SOAR Innovation Summit in opposition to proposed federal prisonFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2016 Contact: Eric King – (606) 634-5896 Ada Smith – (606) 303-2677 Members of the Letcher Governance Project are holding a nonviolent silent protest this morning at the SOAR Innovation Summit in Pikeville, Ky. The group demands more creative and innovative solutions for eastern Kentucky’s economy than an additional federal prison. The protest is part of the group’s #our444million social media campaign, which was launched after the announcement that $444 million in taxpayer dollars had been allocated for the development of a federal prison in Letcher County. The campaign aims to demonstrate that there are better economic solutions for the region than prisons, and $444 million would go a long way towards implementing those solutions. The Letcher Governance Project is additionally concerned with the gradual increase of prisons in the central Appalachian region. Proposed USP Letcher will be the fourth prison that Congressman Hal Rogers has worked to bring to eastern Kentucky. The three previous examples – prisons in McCreary, Martin and Clay counties – have not significantly contributed to the economies of those communities. Two recently-opened prisons in nearby Wise County, Virginia, have also failed to deliver on early promises of jobs and economic benefits. The Letcher Governance Project points to these counties as proof that prisons do not boost rural economies. The campaign and protest demonstrate that many people from the area oppose the prison, contrary to the statements of local officials, Congressman Hal Rogers, and the Bureau of Prisons. The Letcher Governance Project has submitted dozens of comments to the Bureau of Prisons citing social, economic and environmental concerns with the development process of proposed USP Letcher. However, Congressman Rogers and the Bureau of Prisons have consistently refused to acknowledge these concerns in public statements, despite the fact that many of them come from Congressman Rogers’ constituents. The Letcher Governance Project is therefore protesting Congressman Hal Rogers’ presence at the SOAR Innovation Summit, and calls on the Congressman to consider other solutions to eastern Kentucky’s economy. In this time of economic transition, eastern Kentucky residents demand solutions that foster healing, improved working conditions, and better standards of living. Residents across the region have used the #our444million hashtag to envision what that kind of economy might look like, and we urge Congressman Rogers to acknowledge and act on those ideas. Finally, the Letcher Governance Project wishes to express solidarity with groups working across the country to change the United States criminal justice system by stating unequivocally that black lives matter to eastern Kentuckians. This country overwhelmingly imprisons more people of color than white people, and we refuse to allow our local economies to be dependent on this form of racist exploitation. |
STAY in the newsNews from the STAY Project! Archives
August 2020
Categories |