End words from Kip:

Thanks to all of you who have responded to our three day fast of moral witness at the continuing cruelty visited upon our poorest citizens in Massachusetts. Thanks to all of you, our cup runneth over! This is our third fast in twenty years, always for the same reasons: for atonement, for redemption, for repentance, for resistance, for forgiveness of the poor for what we as taxpayers have allowed state legislators to do in our name.

More Day Three speakers:

Fran Froehlich, Co-Director of PPUF and Director of Community Works spoke about how important small organizations are in pursuit of social justice and how important it is to support their work. Community Works raises money for thirty-one small social justice non-profits that serve folks who have always been at the end of line when the goodies are being handed out. Fran spoke of the catastrophic increase in need that these agencies are coping with.

Marie Turley, Director, City of Boston Women's Commission reported on the proposed budget cuts to services for victims of domestic violence.

Jim Green, director, City of Boston Emergency Shelter Commission spoke about the proposed budget cut that would deny families with income between 100% and 130% of the poverty line access to shelter.

Lew Finfer, long time activisit talked about his concerns at the elimination in the state budget of youth violence prevention and job training programs. Massachusetts has a three billion dollar budget deficit due to corporate tax breaks and lack of state income tax increases.

Pat Maher, Nurse for Cambridge Health Care for the Homeless spoke about the lack of comprehensive services for homeless women.

Boston Globe Article about Kip's Fast

Please read this article!


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/06/03/still_striking_at_hunger/

Roca young people gave performances and testimony about how the programs had helped them, Stuart Herrara, Chino Kan, Mercedes Pagan, and Jennifer Gonzales.

Mary Quinn, Rene Scott Gray, Laurie Taymor Berry talked about the struggles for equal justice for poor women at the Boston Women's Fund and Survivors, Inc.

Diane Sullivan, Homes for Families talked about the 2700 families living in shelter, 700 in motels where she had lived not being able to feed her families. The voucher program has not been funded and would result in more families becoming homeless.

Day three of Kip's Fast was opened with a message from Pat Baker, Chair, of the Massachusetts Food Stamp Coalition. "Our work continues today in honor of and inspired by Rosie's Place founder Kip Tiernan. She seeks to raise awareness of the continued growth in homelessness and hunger facing the Commonwealth, and to call on elected leaders to own their responsibility to appropriate the funds needed to ensure the Commonwealth meets these most basic human needs."

Before we ended yesterday, Gabriella Snyder Stelmack spoke about the 24% increase in need at the Bread of Life food program in Malden. She reported that the director Tom Feagley was fasting in solidarity with Kip.

Debbie Socolar from the Boston University school of Public Health spoke about the importance of nutrition and safe housing being included in the definition of health care.

Susan Mortimer and Betty Reid Mandell from Survivor's, Inc. talked about the humiliation visited on welfare recipients by case workers and legislators. Both talked about trying to mobilize the fight against poverty and injustice and not against poor people. "The only war we need to win is the war that intends to deny what we all witness each and every day: The injustice of Poverty and Hunger." ( from a poem read by Mary Woodman Amato)