Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Young people from ROCA, including Stuart Herrara, Chino Kan, Mercedes Pagan, and Jennifer Gonzales, gave performances and testimony about how the programs there had helped them.
Mary Quinn, Rene Scott Gray, and Laurie Taymor Berry talked about the struggles for equal justice for poor women at the Boston Women's Fund and Survivors, Inc.
Diane Sullivan, from Homes for Families, talked about the 2700 families living in shelter and the 700 in motels. The voucher program has not been funded and could result in more families becoming homeless.
Mary Quinn, Rene Scott Gray, and Laurie Taymor Berry talked about the struggles for equal justice for poor women at the Boston Women's Fund and Survivors, Inc.
Diane Sullivan, from Homes for Families, talked about the 2700 families living in shelter and the 700 in motels. The voucher program has not been funded and could 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."
Molly Baldwin, Director of ROCA, read a letter from Ray Champlain, a prisoner who is fasting in solidarity with Kip. He delineated in his letter the cuts in rehabilitation services for prisoners and the increasing acts of violence towards prisoners.
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 Director Tom Feagley was fasting in solidarity with Kip.
Debbie Socolar from the Boston University School of Public Health spoke about the importance of including nutrition and safe housing in the definition of health care.
Molly Baldwin, Director of ROCA, read a letter from Ray Champlain, a prisoner who is fasting in solidarity with Kip. He delineated in his letter the cuts in rehabilitation services for prisoners and the increasing acts of violence towards prisoners.
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 Director Tom Feagley was fasting in solidarity with Kip.
Debbie Socolar from the Boston University School of Public Health spoke about the importance of including nutrition and safe housing in the definition of health care.
Former Director of the City Mission Society David King talked about his greatest fear: that we really don't want to solve the problem of hunger and homelessness. Bigger and more shelters and food warehouses for food pantries seem to announce that this problem will always be with us, that it must be institutionalized.
Jane Zerby from the Unitarian Universalist church in Jamaica Plain talked about the increasing numbers of people waiting in line for two hours for a bag of groceries at their newly founded food pantry. Jane and Bob Golden, among many who have brought in food, volunteered to take the donated food to this new pantry.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Susan Mortimer and Betty Reid Mandell from Survivors, 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.
Mary Woodman Amato read out part of a poem: "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."
Mary Woodman Amato read out part of a poem: "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."
Article from WBZ on Kip's Hunger Strike
She is a hero among the homeless. And now 82-year-old Kip Tiernan is putting her health at risk to help again.
The founder of Rosie's Place is on a three day fast to raise donations and awareness for poverty and homelessness. "We love what were doing and love what has to be done and we're never gonna stop," says Tiernan.
Inside the Old South Church in Boston Tiernan, along with others from the Poor People's United Fund will not eat for three days. It is not easy, but they say it has never been so bad for the needy. "Our children are suffering, our old ladies and men and dying and they are looking at canned dog food, but even that's too expensive," says Tiernan.
Her friends and supporters say Tiernan is amazing. "She is very courageous. For anybody to go on a fast is something… for her to do it after all these years is really something" says her friend Mark Harvey.
They have had calls of support and e-mails from people all over the country who say they are fasting for the cause as well. "We felt like we had to say something. We couldn't stand by anymore," says Fran Froehlich with the Poor People's United Fund.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
From WBZ TV
http://wbztv.com/local/kip.tiernan.strike.2.1027282.html
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