The Real Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Activists (our own Ellen!) Occupy National Museum of American History — Install Torture Exhibit to Mark Guantánamo Anniversary

  Vowing to “Make Guantanamo History,” human rights advocates from around the country marked the beginning of the thirteenth year of torture and indefinite detention at the prison camp with a dramatic protest at the National Museum of American History. 150 activists occupied the atrium of the crowded museum for more than two hours, speaking out against torture and calling for Guantanamo to close.

The activists hung banners, stood in stress positions in hoods and jumpsuits, spoke to the tourists, and with their bodies and voices revised the museum’s “Price of Freedom” exhibit to include twelve years of torture and indefinite detention as the bitter cost of the United States’ misguided pursuit of “national security.”

In a booming chorus, members of Witness Against Torture and other groups read from a statement that closed with the lines: “to honor freedom and justice and the struggles of Americans for these things, we must end torture, close the prison and make Guantanamo history.”

Chantal deAlcuaz, a Witness Against Torture activist from Anchorage, Alaska spent the two hours in an orange jumpsuit and black hood. She reflected that: “We came here today because we want to see Guantanamo relegated to a museum — to be shuttered and condemned, but also understood as an example of where fear, hatred and violence can take us.”

The museum protest followed a robust and spirited rally at the White House that featured speeches from grassroots activists, Guantanamo attorneys and representatives of national human rights organizations.

“It was so great to see the spirit of hope at the White House, in the streets of DC and at the museum,” said Chris Knestrick, a divinity student form Chicago. “We definitely moved closer to our goal of closing Guantanamo today. And the work will continue!!”

Since Monday, January 6, Witness Against Torture activists from throughout the country have gathered in Washington, D.C. to engage in street theater, demonstrations, fasting and direct action to demand that Guantanamo be closed immediately.  There were also anti-Guantanamo protests and vigils throughout the country, including in Los Angeles, CA, Boston MA, Chicago IL, Santa Monica, CA Erie, PA, and Cleveland, OH.

Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. January 2014 is the eighth year the group has gathered annually in Washington, DC to call for justice and accountability. To learn more, visit www.witnesstorture.org

Saturday, January 11, 2014: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACTS:
Jeremy Varon, 732-979-3119, jvaron@ aol.com
Frida Berrigan, 860-389-8566, frida. berrigan@gmail.com

WE NEED YOUR HELP! FAMILY HOMELESSNESS IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH.

 IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.

WE NEED YOUR HEL0P NOW!

Call your elected officials and ask them to request an investment of at least $87.5 million in the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) as well as a modest reform to the Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter safety net in the Governor’s FY 15 Budget Proposal. 

The final FY 14 budget funded MRVP at $57.5 million, a $15.5 million increase from FY13, providing vouchers to an additional 1,000 families across the Commonwealth. This was a much needed investment and yet if we are to address the growing family homelessness crisis in the state in a meaningful way, we must take sustained and significant steps to expand investment in MRVP and other forms of permanent, affordable housing for our lowest income residents.   

Family homelessness in Massachusetts is at an all-time high, with over 4,000 families currently living in shelter and many more in unsafe or unstable double-up situations. The single most significant cause of family homelessness is a lack of affordable housing. 

We have witnessed first-hand the devastating human and economic consequences of the current family homelessness crisis. It is well-established fact that homeless children, as compared to their housed peers, have:

-       higher rates of acute and chronic illness,

-       more nutritional deficiencies like iron deficiency anemia,

-       greater rates of hunger,

-       higher rates of developmental delays and

-       more difficulty focusing in school, if they make it to school at all, resulting in risks of repeating years in school.

Worse, placing families in motels and shelters costs more – approximately $3000 per month –as compared with funding an MRVP voucher which costs just $1028 per family per month. And long term, the costs of family homelessness – in health care, education, public benefits, and to society at large – are substantial. While we must continue to fully fund EA shelter, since it is such a critical safety net while so many families are homeless and at risk of homelessness, we must also substantially increase our investment in permanent, affordable housing if the need for shelter is to decrease.   

We are asking for a proposed investment of at minimum $87.5 million in the MRVP line item in the Governor’s FY15 Budget Proposal. This would be a $30 million increase over the FY14 investment, and would create between 2,000 and 3,000 additional vouchers. Permanent, affordable housing is the centerpiece to child health and a stable education and has a proven record in contributing to substantial long term cost savings.

 At the same time, we know that families experiencing homelessness need access to emergency shelter until they are able to secure permanent housing and we are very concerned that many families cannot now qualify for EA unless and until they have had no choice but to stay in a place not meant for human habitation.

 The lack of this protection is putting a strain on our medical, educational and social systems. Families in dire straits sometimes have to resort to staying in the emergency room when they’ve been denied shelter and have no other housing options, thereby driving up medical costs. The educators among us have noticed students out of school as their families bounce around from place to place, and have had to take time away from teaching to address the homelessness crises of our students. 

We are asking you our elected officials to request that the Governor's proposal slightly expand eligibility for EA shelter to families who provide credible information that they are within 24 hours of having to stay in a place not meant for human habitation with their children. This should increase cost very little, if anything because these families are qualifying for shelter now but only after having had to go through the trauma of staying in places not meant for human habitation. 

 We ask you to  urge the administration to take this step to ensure that children are kept safe and off the streets while simultaneously setting a strong precedent toward ending family homelessness by proposing to fund the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program at $87.

5 million or higher.

Notes on pandhandling from a friend

I have never had to survive from panhandling before, but I have discovered many things about people while doing it. 

First, it's the poor who help the poor. That surprised me. It's not the brand new Cadillac with a well dressed couple. It's the older model mini van with 3 kids in the back. 

Begging makes folks uncomfortable. Eye contact is intensely avoided. Smiles are hard to get. Children get confused, but always smile. 

People spit on panhandlers.  I'm not sure I understand that. On the other hand, folks are incredibly kind. I had a young woman give me half of her ham sandwich. I had another couple who saw me and then went to D & D and brought me back a hot coffee and a donut. It was about 10 degrees and windy that day. I had a Youngman who stopped and prayed for me and then gave me his change. This one woman who I noticed each day walking by me stopped one day and told me she had been watching me. She had noticed that very few folks stopped to help. We talked for 10 minuets and then she gave me $20.

I read something the other day that helps me when I am at my lowest, when no one stops for an hour or so:  "It is a beggar's pride that he is not a thief."

 

I have lived the life of a thief. It hurt a lot of folks. It darkens the soul. It becomes impossible to look at others because of shame.

 

It is very hard for me to ask for money, but what I have been doing to get money does not hurt folks. I sincerely wear a face of gratitude. I take no more than I need. I share what I can.

 

There is a lot to this story. I have just begun to write about it. It is another world. The comradely feeling amongst others doing what I do, is strong.

 

Ill keep you posted as I trudge this road for now.