Writer, sister, advocate. kateoneillcreative.com

Joined October 2008
19 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
If wishes were time machines I would go back to before my sister died—of a lethal combination of stigma & endocarditis from injecting drugs—knowing what I've learned this year about harm reduction. Let #harmreduction be our time machine going forward. sevendaysvt.com/vermont/hook…

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Kate O'Neill retweeted
VT legislators have an opportunity to override @GovPhilScott veto of legislation piloting overdose prevention centers in VT. @okatherine op-ed in @vtdigger is a powerful first hand call to action to lawmakers to act and save lives. A must read!#VTPOLI vtdigger.org/2024/06/11/kate…
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Kate O'Neill retweeted
Please consider donating to this incredibly important and valuable collection for folks in our community who are in need. If you’d prefer to Venmo me at @SarahFGeorgeVT just indicate “VCJR” in the memo and I’ll make sure the money gets to Maura! 👇🏼
Replying to @okatherine
We are raising funds & asking for donations of outerwear for @V4CJR, which works w/ ppl leaving incarceration, many of whom have nothing. She'll pick up from you directly or you can donate $ to purchase snacks, socks, parkas & more (Venmo: @mojown; PayPal: mauraoneill@gmail).
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This weekend was the 5th anniversary of my youngest sister's death while incarcerated. And it's the 4th anniversary of my middle sister's fundraiser for ppl like Maddie: ppl who are unhoused, have SUD, are caught up in the legal system.
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We are raising funds & asking for donations of outerwear for @V4CJR, which works w/ ppl leaving incarceration, many of whom have nothing. She'll pick up from you directly or you can donate $ to purchase snacks, socks, parkas & more (Venmo: @mojown; PayPal: mauraoneill@gmail).
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You can learn more here or let me know if you have questions. Thank you for reading and for your help. instagram.com/p/CyHJvyKOeNJV…
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.@bbavt opposes a warming shelter. A warming shelter for unhoused people in a city that is about to get very cold. This is just cruel. "Platinum" members of @bbavt include @UVMMedCenter, @hulabtv, @nsbvt--do y'all support this position? wcax.com/2023/10/05/plan-tem…
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What's shocking about this piece is not syringes or a report of a public blowjob, it's the lack of compassion. When the publisher of VT's alt-weekly walks by people sleeping outside, her concern is for herself, not THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOWHERE TO LIVE. sevendaysvt.com/vermont/from…

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The "damage to our beautiful burg" is not comments on a NYT article or your discomfort with poverty & mental illness, it's the suffering experienced by our neighbors. There are in fact solutions to this suffering, and you own a newspaper...🤔 But fear mongering gets more clicks?
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This is my nephew, traveling on an @AirCanada flight this morning. He had not said a word when a flight attendant ordered my sister to “keep him quiet and under control.” Aidan (aka Mr. Buggins, aka the sweetest guy on the planet) has autism.
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My sister told the flight attendant that Aidan hadn’t made any noise so far but that he has a disability and might at some point. The flight attendant told her “people have paid a lot of money for these seats” and she needed to “be respectful.”
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I’m not just angry at @aircanada, I’m heartbroken and terrified that we live in a world where people with disabilities, including our sweet bug, are treated this way.
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Good job, @potus. Now pardon every single person in THIS country who is incarcerated or has a record as a result of the War on Drugs, a war in which you served as a 5-star general. Repair the harm YOU caused.
Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.
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Kate O'Neill retweeted
The willingness of those in law enforcement to openly disregard the pain of people who use drugs is truly hideous. But this type of discrimination is not reserved solely for cops. Some of the worst treatment of PWUD I've ever seen came from doctors, nurses, & social workers.
My sister died of endocarditis while incarcerated because cops & COs didn’t believe her when she reported her symptoms & *begged* for help. Endocarditis is preventable, as are bias & discrimination against PWID. The combo was lethal for my sister.
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I just can’t with this town. Please sign the petition asking that a box with free clothing for people in need (often of not just clothes but shelter, food, etc., too) not be removed.
FYI: The Battery Street Jeans free clothing bin is in jeopardy due to selfish "neighbors" (other small businesses): change.org/p/save-the-batter…
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My sister died of endocarditis while incarcerated because cops & COs didn’t believe her when she reported her symptoms & *begged* for help. Endocarditis is preventable, as are bias & discrimination against PWID. The combo was lethal for my sister.
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"Mr. Spencer said that none of this year’s deaths have been homicides." They were all homicides. Every single one of these people was murdered by the criminal punishment system. 1/ nytimes.com/2022/11/22/us/ja…
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My sister died while incarcerated of an infection that would've been treatable had cops & COs not ignored her pleas for help. They didn't use their guns or fists, but they murdered her. 2/ aclum.org/en/news/aclu-famil…

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Thank you to the @nytimes for this desperately needed reporting, and fuck you for using "substance abuse" in the first line of the story. 3/
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This @nytimes article by @mcorkery5 is a mess of biased reporting that doesn't meet the basic standards of journalism. I don't have the time or energy to lay it all out in a long-ass 🧵, so I'll just point out 3 obvious examples: #vtpoli nytimes.com/2022/11/12/busin…
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One last thing: I live less than 2 blocks from the park ppl in this article say they don't feel safe in & walk my dogs there almost daily. There are often ppl at the park who seem like they might be struggling w/ housing or addiction, but I have never, not once, felt unsafe
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Burlington, Vt., is a beautiful city with some of the same complex problems faced by MANY other places in the U.S. But incorrectly blaming those problems on a reduced police budget or people with addiction will not get us closer to solutions.
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