Together We Are Enough is a two-day punk festival featuring more than 20 bands performing free at Washington Jefferson Skatepark, aiming to provide resources for at-risk youth and connect them with the appropriate service providers to meet their individual needs.
Radical Alternative Development (RAD) — a local nonprofit determined to create safe spaces for all ages, genders and races with a focus on mental health and suicide prevention — hosts the mental health and suicide prevention fest Saturday, Sept. 13, and Sunday, Sept. 14.
BriJit Jenkins, RAD founder and member of the band Rot//Woven, says, “A lot of people just don’t have the support system that they need. We try to provide that for the youth.”
She adds, “A lot of people who are low income, live in poverty, and that’s the reason why people have addiction issues or mental health problems, because they don’t have access. That’s why everything is 100 percent free.”
Jenkins says she applied multiple years in a row to get the festival at the skatepark, but wasn’t approved until suicide rates, overdoses and mental health crises in Lane County started rapidly increasing during the pandemic. One of the nonprofit’s key initiatives is to incorporate music and the arts into accessible events, connecting people in need with creative outlets through the power of music.
RAD does this by connecting with similar nonprofits to throw events, creating safe spaces for punk and social justice movements to thrive. From benefits to resource fairs, RAD’s intention “is to build community and to focus on purpose and people’s lives, and feeling a sense of belonging,” Jenkins says.
Saturday features a skateboarding competition and a nonprofit resource fair where booths will hand out Narcan, harm reduction and sex education resources, while giving kids a place to enjoy themselves.
Some key local nonprofits participating yearly include Community Outreach through Radical Empowerment (CORE), Sexual Assault Support Services, Ben Moody Foundation, Youth Era and Black Thistle Street Aid. After the resource tabling from noon to 1 pm, the skateboarding competition starts.
“We all work in the field, but we’re also in recovery ourselves, and we’ve grown up in the punk rock scene and skateboarding community, so we want to create the community that we needed when we were kids,” Jenkins says.
Sargent Pitviper, a youth band supported and funded by RAD, kicks the festival off with punk at 3 pm. Throughout the evening, nine other bands will perform, including Root_Dir, a band created by the board of directors for RAD, and Rot//Woven, a three-piece anarcho crust punk band native to Eugene.
At 8:15 pm, Rot//Woven plays throughout a candlelight vigil, where families will come on stage and individually read the names of their loved ones lost to suicide. Some of the names include Ben Moody and Silas Strimple, two teens who frequently spent time at Washington Jefferson Skatepark. Jenkins’ mother, Jeannene Honnert, and father, Patrick McNicholas, will be mentioned as well.
“We believe that a community that grieves together can heal together,” Jenkins says.
Haggus, a popular mincecore band within the underground metal scene, has toured throughout the U.S., Europe and South America. They headline at 9:45 pm, ending the first night.
Sunday features an artist market and 11 more bands.
Vendors don’t have to pay to sell their goods at the market, allowing small and struggling artists who otherwise couldn’t display their work to gain exposure, Jenkins says. “We are an anti-capitalist community-building project, so we don’t have a stipulation for people to participate. That’s why it does make an impact because there’s no fine print. Just show up, participate any way you want, be who you are and we’re gonna validate and support that.”
Chemical Restraints, a band named after the drugs commonly used to control aggressive behavior and formed in Lane County Behavioral Health mental health clinic, opens the second day at 2 pm. They have performed at local benefits and were requested by RAD staff for the event. Triangle Fire, a punk band from Athens, Georgia and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is the headliner and closes the second night at 9:30 pm. They call their music “pizza punk with extra thick crust,” and are known for their chaotic, female-fronted punk, touring throughout the country. Both days will have free food throughout the festival.
The nonprofit conducts DIY fundraising throughout the year, applying for grants through the city of Eugene and hosting dozens of low-cost events to cover its expenses. RAD officially became a nonprofit in December 2024, shortly before its funding was completely severed, following President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.
“People have a misconception because we’re a nonprofit that it’s our job, but we are just like anybody else; we have to work full-time,” Jenkins says. “It’s our life’s work, it’s our passion, so it’s not something we get paid for at all.” She adds that RAD was founded on the belief that every individual has the potential to make a significant impact in the community.
Together We Are Enough, a two-day punk and mental health festival, is free at Washington Jefferson Skatepark, Sept. 13 and 14. For more information, visit RadEugene.org online and Rad.eugene.oregon on Instagram.