Posted 8 years ago on May 19, 2012, 10:45 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt



Occupiers sit in the road in front of Mayor Emmanuel's house

Update, 4pm Eastern / 3pm Central: Successful action at Rahm's house is ending; no arrests or major conflicts. Lots of photos added below! Next action is at 3:30 at Jackson and Lasalle in solidarity with the #NATO3. #BeerNotBombs

As of 3pm Eastern / 2pm Central, Occupiers and the Mental Health Movement have taken the streets at Rockwell & Montrose and are on their way to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel's home. The MHM is occupying mental health clinics slated for closure due to the city's austerity programs. Today, thousands of protesters are marching in solidarity against the clinic closures, chanting, ¨They say cut back, we say fight back!¨ and ¨Fight fight fight, health care is a human right!¨ Rahm Emmanuel is being targeted because his government is closing half the mental health clinics in Chicago while spending millions on hosting the NATO war-makers conference.

Follow on Twitter: @OccupyChicago, @MHMChicago, @Codepink, #noNATO, #saveourclinics

Background on today's action:

The Mental Health Movement is calling on all NATO protesters to occupy the public clinics being closed by Mayor 1% Emanuel. On May 19, NATO demonstrators will take the fight to #SaveOurClinics to the Mayor's doorstep. At 10am, masses of demonstrators will gather at the Irving Park Brown Line stop, where they will be given hospital gowns with "Healthcare Not Warfare," and, "Clinics Not NATO," written on them. They will go door to door, asking Rahm's neighbors where they can find mental health care, since they Mayor has closed the clinics that serve our communities. At 12pm, the Mental Health Movement and supporters will converge on Horner Park at Irving and California, and will then march on Rahm Emanuel's house at 4228 N Hermitage. The Mental Health Movement call to occupy the clinics during NATO has been echoed by Occupy Wall Street. Mental Health Movement Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/saveourclinics



Members of the Mental Health Movement speaking to media



Riot police in front of the Mayor´s house



During a march, protesters take a break in the middle of Berteau and Lincoln Streets