12/04/2011 04:03 PM

Occupy Raleigh movement gains strength after moving base camp

By: Julie Fertig

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RALEIGH-- Close to two months since demonstrators began occupying Raleigh, the movement continues to gain momentum. Protestors feel their new permanent base camp demonstrates the group's strength and will attract newcomers.

"You see maybe 20 tents all together, but there's a lot more than that within the occupation,” said Paul Rivera, who's been occupying Raleigh since they began the movement in the Capital City in mid-October. “We're just in and out."

The new site, which is known to dwellers as the North Carolina Occupy Movement Resource Center, looks more like a parking lot, but members like Rivera make it home. The camp has a kitchen, bathroom and a library.

"We're up to about 300 books right now," said Rivera.

He feels the downtown camp located along Hillsborough and Edenton streets shows they're serious about their beliefs.

"If we were going to be an occupation, we needed to start showing a presence rather than just holding up signs," said Rivera.

Occupy members said they still plan to hold demonstrations in the area surrounding the Capitol building, but they feel having a permanent base camp a couple blocks away will attract more people to the movement.

"I think more people are going to come in here because we've got a steady ground," said Vincent Van Dyke, a member of Occupy Raleigh.

With the weather getting cooler, Van Dyke knows it'll be tough to make it through the winter nights.

"That's the hard part,” he said. “You have to sacrifice things in life."

Members have found ways to cope with the cold like fire pits, a make shift furnace and bundling up.

"I wear like a place mat, a blanket and two sleeping bags," said Rivera.

Despite the weather, the occupation plans to remain focused on what brought them together.

"We're doing it for this country and we're doing it because it's something we really believe in," said Van Dyke.

Members said a person is leasing the land to the movement for $400 a month. They can stay as the base camp as long as they'd like.