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Proud
Member of the Poor
People's Economic Human Rights Campaign since 2001
Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights is a grassroots anti-poverty action group led by poor & low-income people. United with all those who align with this mission, together we're building a local movement to win economic rights for all, end economic oppression, & abolish poverty. When we unite to claim our rights, together we have POWER! Next Monthly POWER Meeting: Monday July 21st, 6:30-8:00PM At 644 Congress Street, Portland, Maine Home of the Meg Perry Center for Peace, Justice & Community. For more about Monthly POWER Meetings, please follow the links below: Meeting Schedule | More about POWER Meetings | Meeting Framework Questions? Contact P.O.W.E.R. ( TOP
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*Updates*Updates*Updates*
***THIS JUST IN! -6/17/08 POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission a HUGE success!! Tuesday June 10th, 6:00-8:30PM Community Public Access, 516 Congress St, Portland, ME Co-sponsored by POWER & MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 Flyer: PDF | Word Handout: PDF | Word For more information contact POWER. "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking & inhumane." --Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The stories we shared and witnessed at this Healthcare Truth Commission were nothing short of incredible....Thanks to those brave individuals who dared enough to stand up and speak their truth, those of us who dared enough to listen learned exactly why this injustice must end.....By the end of the evening there was not a heart among us left untouched, nor a soul left unstirred. READ MORE... ( TOP ) ********* ***NEW POWER VIDEO RESOURCES! -4/6/08 Healthcare Crisis --NEW! Larger screen | Watch movie on YouTube | Visit POWER's YouTube channel | ( TOP ) Short video piece exposing the US healthcare crisis & calling for people to speak out and tell their stories of struggling to get the healthcare they need. Video was produced by POWER's Video Committee & includes the song Healthcare Justice!, written & performed by Colette Washington; please visit www.GuaranteedHealthcare.org. Watch POWER's
Public Forum on Healthcare Justice on Public Access TV Channels 2 & 4! --More about POWER's Public Forum on Healthcare Justice --More about POWER's HEALTHCARE TRUTH COMMISSION --TAKE POWER'S HEALTHCARE JUSTICE SURVEY! Other recently created POWER video pieces:
********* ***THIS JUST IN! -4/4/08 Thank you for taking action to stop the cuts! To learn more visit the website of Maine Equal Justice: www.mejp.org/supp_budget.htm Together the people of Maine stood up and prevented some of the very serious cuts to services recently proposed by the legislature to offset a $190 million hole in the state budget. These cuts were prevented thanks to Maine people who stood up, spoke up, & demanded that Maine can do better, that we must not balance its budget on the backs of our state's most vulnerable people, including those of us who are barely getting by as it is. However, while we prevented some of the deepest cuts, unfortunately some harmful cuts were in fact made. To learn more, please visit: www.mejp.org/supp_budget.htm More information: www.mainecandobetter.org > SIGN THE PETITION in support of a fair budget. > SEND A LETTER to your legislators. > Click here to learn more about what kinds of services would be affected. > Click here to read some of the stories of those who would be affected. > Click here for news articles regarding the budget cuts On Wednesday March 12, 2008 over 1,000 Mainers gathered in the State House in Augusta to tell our legislature NO MORE CUTS: MAINE CAN DO BETTER! The rally was one of the biggest ever to be held at the state house. Below we're posting video & news coverage of this event, courtesy of the Maine Can Do Better Coalition. NO MORE CUTS! Maine Can Do Better Rally 3/12/08 News coverage of this story, links courtesy of Maine Can Do Better:
And remember - our representatives are supposed to represent us. That's what 'we the people' hired them to do. So don't forget to pick up the phone and tell them where you stand and how you want them to vote on the important issues that affect your life. To leave a phone message for your State Representative call: 1-800-423-2900 (TOLL-FREE) To leave a phone message for your State Senator call: 1-800-423-6900 (TOLL-FREE!) These calls are TOLL FREE. You'll be leaving a brief message. Be sure to state your name & the town you live in, & leave your phone number if you want a call back. ( TOP ) ********* ***THIS JUST IN! -3/6/08 The February 2008 MAIN Update is available! Produced by Maine Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods (MAIN), of which POWER is a member, the MAIN Update is packed with helpful updates & resources on legislative issues & other issues of importance for low-income Maine residents, families, & communities: www.mejp.org/Update/12-1/toc.htm --Includes What are
Economic Human Rights? -- article by POWER's Economic Human
Rights
Taskforce.
To read this article please visit: www.mejp.org/Update/12-1/ehr.htm or download it in Word. > Also: The Presence of Justice: an Intro to Economic Human Rights, an in-depth version of the above article: Word document. --MAIN Update also
includes: Now is the time to End Poverty in Maine.
This article is about
LD 1110, a state bill aimed at creating a "Maine Commission on Poverty & Economic Security," to advise the Governor "on ending poverty & providing economic security to disadvantaged citizens." Learn more about this legislation. ( TOP ) ******* ***THIS JUST IN! -2/5/08 Homeless Hero: The Story of One of the 12 Most Endangered Activists in America [VIDEO] --To watch this video please visit AlterNet: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/75947 Homeless Hero tells the story of Cheri Honkala's rise from homelessness to the leadership of a growing popular movement in America -- the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. This moving and engrossing video is from an Al Jazeera segment called Homeless Hero. It explores the activism of Cheri Honkala, a single mother and former homeless person herself, who has fought passionately in defense of homeless Americans, who are routinely abused by authorities and/or the system itself. It's a powerful and important story of the millions of forgotten Americans who are bound to be overlooked in the Super Tuesday hoopla. To watch the video: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/75947 ( TOP ) ********* UPDATES-6/21/08 POWER's Organizing for Healthcare Justice! For more information please see our EVENTS PAGE BACKGROUND: Healthcare is a basic human right which all human beings are entitled to, regardless of income and ability to pay. Yet here in the world's wealthiest nation, in a country which claims to be a beacon of human rights for the rest of the world, the reality is that access to this fundamental human right is based on our ability to pay. As a result, millions upon millions of us are denied our human right to healthcare when we can't afford to pay the price. This includes those who are 'insured' and those who are not (according to American Patients for Universal Health Care, since the beginning of the Iraq War 2003, 282,600 U.S. patients have died as a result of insurance denials). We say ENOUGH! We are calling for Universal Single Payer Healthcare - a healthcare system that includes EVERYONE, that covers ALL of our healthcare needs, & that takes both the profit and the profiteers OUT of our healthcare. For good. Because we shouldn't have to pay a premium for justice. What do you say? Will you join us?
********* Sign petition calling on members of Congress to pass Universal Single Payer Healthcare for ALL (HR 676)!!! www.healthcare-now.org/petition.php
( TOP ) ********* Sign petition to Stop Unjust Child Removal! Sponsored by: Every Mother is a Working Mother Network: (215-848-1120); Co-sponsored by: Families for Justice (215-806-7593); DHS: Give us Back Our Children; Global Women's Strike; Payday men’s network. This petition comes to us as part of a series of actions being organized by the groups listed above, all based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Please visit this link to sign the petition: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/dhs-give-us-back-our-children. "Mothers are being
unjustly denied custody & visitation of their
children by Dept of Human Services (DHS) for the "crime" of being poor,
being women of color, being activists, & not having good legal
help."
...READ MORE & SIGN THIS PETITION!... ( TOP ) ********* POWER's US Social Forum Delegation NEW VIDEO! -2/24/07 National
Housing Action Workshop,
At the US Social Forum in Atlanta Georgia; Produced by POWER's Video Committee; What Does POWER Do?
Based in Southern Maine, POWER is open to people from all walks of life who are care about economic justice & ending poverty. Together we are building a movement to end poverty, led by poor & low-income people. We demand safe & affordable housing! Access to all levels of quality health care! Jobs at living wages with decent benefits! Access to higher education, including college! Access to safe & affordable childcare! Adequate social benefits for all those unable to work! Fairness and dignified treatment by social service agencies! An end to unjust child removal! Here in Portland and throughout Maine, we are fighting for these things and more. The rights to food, healthcare, housing, education, living wage jobs, education: these are all examples of what are called Economic Human Rights. POWER
hosts Truth
Commissions
& Speak Outs were people can tell their own stories regarding
the economic human rights VIOLATIONS that occur on a daily basis here
in Maine, throughout the United States, and all over the world. We hold
rallies, marches, sit-ins, protests, human rights trainings, movie
nights, poverty reality tours, and forums for political and social
education. Together we protest, document, and educate that
poverty violates our human rights!
Questions?
Wanna
learn more? Contact
us!
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Monthly
POWER Meetings are regularly scheduled for the THIRD MONDAY of every
month, Meeting Schedule | Meeting Framework | Questions? Contact us! The general meeting portion of
monthly
meetings runs from
about 6:30-8:00PM, and is open to members and non-members alike.
As needed, POWER's Members Council** meets following
the general meeting. *Meetings
start PROMPTLY at 6:30pm: **About
Members Council:
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ORIENTATIONS
Orientation sessions are available upon request from 5:15-6:00 PM on the 3rd Monday of every month, just before Monthly POWER Meetings (which start at 6:30PM). Orientations are about 45 minutes in length & include a short 15 minute film. After the orientation, participants are expected to help with setup for the POWER Meeting. To request an orientation, please call 650-5092 (more contact info) at least 3 days in advance, if possible. If you aren't able to reach us when you call, make sure to leave your contact information so that we can call you back to confirm. Contact us to request an orientation today! Also note that in the event you're not available to attend an orientation at this date/time, contact us & we'll try to arrange a different date/time that would work better for you. These orientation sessions are a great opportunity for you to get acquainted to our organization and the work that we do together. If you're someone who's interested in learning more about POWER, our efforts to win economic rights & the movement to abolish poverty, please do not hesitate to contact us and request an orientation today! ( TOP ) Stay informed by signing up to receive POWER's email updates. Enter your email in the form below & hit subscribe. Or visit our email list page & sign up. ( TOP ) Have
you experienced
conditions of poverty? Have your economic human
rights been violated? As
part of our efforts to build a movement to end poverty, we're
documenting and collecting stories of economic human rights violations
wherever they occur. Your
story is important and we want to hear it!
Document your story on-line with
our ON-LINE
Economic Human Rights SURVEY!
Download survey in Word format - you can send it back to us either: -
by attaching it to
(or copy/pasting it in) an email
Contact
us- many of us have gone through a lot of the same stuff -
we'll
gladly help you document your story.- or by printing out a hard copy & sending it in the regular mail. NEW!!! -3/1/08 HEALTHCARE JUSTICE SURVEY Have you experienced problems getting & affording the healthcare you need? Take POWER's new on-line HEALTH CARE SURVEY & tell your story! You can also download a printable version of the survey: www.povertyontrial.org/power_materials/power_healthcare_survey--2008.doc [Word format] NEW!!! -2/24/08 Watch footage from POWER's 1st Truth Commission on Google Video! Tell YOUR story today! Questions? Contact us! ( TOP
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Become
a Member! How to join POWER or renew your annual membership:
Make a Contribution! If you support POWER's mission of winning economic rights, ending economic oppression, abolishing poverty, & low-income leadership, please show your support by making a contribution today!!!
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