PAST POWER EVENTS

• Video Committee
  Tuesday July 1st, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Leadership Council
  Tuesday July 15th, 6:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• General Monthly POWER Meeting
  Monday July 21st, 6:30 - 8:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  *Note: POWER Meetings start promptly at 6:30PM: PLEASE PLAN TO ARRIVE
             10-15 MINUTES EARLY (by 6:20pm) so meetings can start & end on time.
  More about POWER Meetings | Meeting Framework

• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday June 3rd, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Monday June 9th, 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• 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
  more about this event... | photos (coming soon!) 
                                           Flyer: PDF | Word  Handout: PDF | Word 
  "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking & inhumane."
            --Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  On June 10, 2008 POWER hosted a Healthcare Truth Commission, co-sponsored by MSEA-SEIU Local 1989, where we shined a light on some of the healthcare rights violations happening in our community. About 60 people joined us at this event.... READ MORE...
     
• Sound Ecology Host Karen D'Andrea Interviews POWER members
  Wednesday June 11th, 7:30 - 8:30 PM, 90.9 FM & 104.1 FM / www.wmpg.org
  Sound Ecology Radio host Karen D'Andrea talks with fellow POWER members
  about our recent Healthcare Truth Commission! Broadcast on WMPG -- home of Greater Portland's Community Radio: to listen to the program, tune in your radio to 90.9 or 104.1 FM,
  or listen to live streaming audio on WMPG's website: www.wmpg.org.
  For more information about Sound Ecology, please visit: www.soundecology.org  
      
• Leadership Council
  Sunday June 15th, 4:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• General Monthly POWER meeting
  Monday June 16th, 6:30 - 8:00 P.M. (every 3rd Monday)
  644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  *Note: POWER Meetings start promptly at 6:30PM: PLEASE PLAN TO ARRIVE
             10-15 MINUTES EARLY (by 6:20pm) so meetings can start & end on time.
  More about POWER Meetings | Meeting Framework 
   
• Video Committee
  Tuesday June 17th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!

• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday May 6th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!
   
  
• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday May 13th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Leadership Council
  Sunday May 18th, 4:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• General Monthly POWER Meeting
  Monday May 19th, 6:30 - 8:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  *Note: POWER Meetings start promptly at 6:30PM: PLEASE PLAN TO ARRIVE
             10-15 MINUTES EARLY (by 6:20pm) so meetings can start & end on time.
  More about POWER Meetings | Meeting Framework
    
• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday May 20th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday May 27th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!

• POWER participates in CTN's Annual Begathon
  Sunday April 6th, 8:00 - 9:00 PM, Community Television Network Studio
  POWER to hosts live 50 minute program for Community Television Network's "Begathon,"
  an annual pledge drive to help encourage community members to join & donate to CTN.
  PLEASE DEMONSTRATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR LOCAL PUBLIC ACCESS: 
  BECOME A MEMBER OF COMMUNITY TELEVISION NETWORK TODAY!
  For more information visit www.ctn4maine.org or call 207-775-2900.
   
  
• POWER member Faith "Nikki" McLean appointed to Maine
  State Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners!
  Wednesday Apr 9th, 2:00 PM 
  Room 208, Cross Building, 58 State House Station, Capitol St, Augusta, ME
  At a public confirmation hearing before the Maine Senate Committee on Business, Research, & Economic Development (BRED), committee members voted unanimously (11-0) to confirm Governor Baldacci's appointment of POWER co-founder & Leadership Council Representative Faith “Nikki” McLean to the Maine State Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners!!! Among her many, many other roles, Nikki is currently serving a 5-year term on Portland Housing Authority's Board of Commissioner, and she is also a long-time board member & active member of Maine People's Alliance. Congratulations Nikki!!!
    
• Special Worship Service & Conversation at the FCC, UCC
  Sunday Apr 13th, 10:00 AM 
  First Congregational Church, UCC, South Portland, ME
  FCC UCC's Community Crisis Ministries have invited POWER members to attend
  a worship service designed in part to reflect upon POWER's work to end poverty.
  Following the service, there will be a conversation where we can meet with members
  of the congregation to share more about our work & experiences.
   
  
• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday April 15th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Leadership Council
  Sunday April 20th, 4:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
    
• General Monthly POWER meeting
  Monday April 21st, 6:30 - 8:00 P.M. (every 3rd Monday)
  644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  *Note: POWER Meetings now start promptly at 6:30PM: PLEASE PLAN TO ARRIVE
             10-15 MINUTES EARLY (by 6:20pm) so meetings can start & end on time.
  More about POWER Meetings | Meeting Framework   
    
• Truth Commission Planning Committee
  Tuesday April 29th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to TCP Committee members
  More about POWER's Healthcare Truth Commission / Contact us to join this committee!

• Video Committee
  Tuesday March 4th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Economic Human Rights Taskforce
  Sunday Mar 9th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to EHR Taskforce members
  More about POWER's EHR Taskforce / Contact us to join this committee!
   
  
• Leadership Council
  Monday March 10th, 6:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
  
• RALLY TO STOP THE BUDGET CUTS!!!
  Wednesday, March 12th, 11:30 AM
  Hall of Flags, State Capitol, Augusta, ME
  Organized by the Maine Can Do Better coaliton: www.mainecandobetter.org
  In addition to attending this rally, visit www.mainecandobetter.org website & Take Action!
            > 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
  Thank you for taking action to stop the cuts!
  On 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. 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 made.
  More info: www.mejp.org/supp_budget.htm | www.mainecandobetter.org
  News coverage & related articles (links courtesy of MCDB & MEJP)
• WGME News 13 Video: "Day 2 of State Budget Public Hearings"
• WCHS 6 - "Hundreds Crowd State House to Voice Views on Budget Cuts"
• WMTW 8  - "Panel Resumes Hearing on Budget Cuts" (includes video)
• Portland Press Herald - "Hundreds at State House protest cuts"
• PolitickerME.com - "Crowd: Maine can do better"
  
• Paid sick days a workplace standard for all, Bangor Daily News 3/19/08 
• Medicaid program invests in our community health, Bangor Daily News 3/15/08 
• Protesters decry budget cuts, Portland Press Herald 3/13/08 
• Survey: 1 in 5 Mainers under 5 in poverty, Kennebec Journal 2/29/08 
• Domestic violence programs may face budget cutbacks, Portland Press Herald 2/29/08 
• Vulnerable population feels brunt of budget cuts, Portland Press Herald 2/24/08 

• Economic Human Rights Taskforce
  Sunday Mar 16th, 3:00 - 6:00 P.M. *Open to EHR Taskforce members
  More about POWER's EHR Taskforce / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  
• General Monthly POWER Meeting
  Monday March 17th, *NEW TIME: 6:30 - 8:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  *Note: POWER Meetings now start promptly at 6:30 PM & run until 8:00 PM;
  Please plan on arriving 10 minutes early to get situated & help with meeting setup.
  More about POWER Meetings | Meeting Framework

• Video Committee
  Tuesday Feb 5th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  
• Leadership Council
  Monday Feb 11th, 6:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• General Monthly POWER meeting -- February
  Monday Feb 18th, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  *NEW LOCATION: 644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  More about POWER Meetings
    
• Video Committee
  Tuesday Feb 19th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• 11th Annual National Homelessness Marathon
  7:00PM Wednesday Feb 20th through 9:00AM Thursday Feb 21st 
     --For more information: www.homelessnessmarathon.org
     --Broadcast locally on WMPG Community Radio 90.9 FM & 104.1 FM,
     --Streaming audio available online at WMPG's website: www.wmpg.org
  The National Homelessness Marathon is a 14-hour radio broadcast featuring the voices & stories of homeless people from across the US. The broadcast begins at 7PM (EST) on Wednesday 2/20/08 & continues until 9AM (EST) on Thursday 2/21/08. Listeners can call into the program all night long via a national toll-free number. The mission of this marathon is to help raise consciousness about homelessness in America in order to ignite the change that is needed to put an end these human rights violations. Because everyone needs & deserves a place to call home.
     --More info: www.homelessnessmarathon.org | Local broadcast: www.wmpg.org 
  
• Special Two-Hour Sound Ecology Radio Program on WMPG!
  Wednesday Feb 20th, 7:00 - 9:00PM; WMPG 90.9FM & 104.1FM www.wmpg.org
  In honor of the 11th Annual Homelessness Marathon, Sound Ecology host Karen D'Andrea presents a special live 2-hour program dedicated to issues of class & classism, with featured guests Jen Hodsdon of the group No Class, Nikki M & Jesse V of POWER, & Richard Rhames of the Southern Maine Labor Council (also a POWER member).
     --More info: www.soundecology.org | Local broadcast: www.wmpg.org
   
• Public Hearing on US Free Trade Agreement with Columbia
  Hosted by Maine's Citizen Trade Policy Commission
  Wednesday Feb 21st, 6:00PM, 
  South Portland Community Center, 21 Nelson Road, South Portland, ME
  (Directions at http://maps.google.com/maps and type in the address)
     --If you can attend, please contact Sarah of the Maine Fair Trade Campaign:
        777-6387 or sarah [ a t  ] mainefairtrade d o t org
     --More about the Citizen Trade Policy Commission: http://maine.gov/legis/opla/citpol.htm
     --More about the Maine Fair Trade Campaign: http://www.mainefairtrade.org
  Please come Thursday February 21st at 6pm to testify or show your opposition to NAFTA-style trade deals! Come add your voice to the collective cry: WE NEED A NEW MODEL FOR TRADE! NO MORE NAFTA TRADE DEALS! The Citizen Trade Policy Commission, which analyzes and makes recommendations on trade policy, is holding this public hearing to take the public's testimony. Based on their findings, the Commission will be taking a position on the pending free trade agreement with Colombia which could come up for a vote. This FTA would be devastating to the small farmers of Colombia & would continue the failed NAFTA model of off-shoring jobs and handing rights over to corporations instead of people. Help us send a loud and clear message to the commission: we want FAIR trade, not more NAFTA! 
   
  
• Video Committee
  Monay Feb 25th, 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!

• Video Committee
  Tuesday Jan 8th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  
• Leadership Council
  Monday Jan 14th, 6:30 P.M. *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
  
  
• Economic Human Rights Workshop
  Tuesday Jan 15th 7:00 PM 
  1st Congregational Church UCC, 301 Cottage Rd in South Portland
  POWER Members will lead a Workshop on Economic Human Rights together with Rev. Elsa Peters and members of the 1st Congregational Church. And, on the evening of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual date of birth (though Dr. King's birthday is officially commemorated on the 3rd Monday in January), we will be discussing Dr.King's Poor People's Campaign of 1968, and reflect on how this important campaign relates to the work we are doing today to win economic rights & abolish poverty. If you're interested in attending, please contact POWER & let us know!
  
  
• General Monthly POWER Meeting for January:
  Promised Land: looking back at Dr. King's Poor People's Campaign
  On Martin Luther King Day, Monday Jan 21st, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  *NEW LOCATION: 644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  Free pizza & snacks (feel free to bring snacks &/or chip in for pizza if you can)
  In honor of Martin Luther King Day, at this month's POWER Meeting, in place of our regular monthly meeting agenda, we will be sharing & discussing THE PROMISED LAND, a 55 minute program from the award-winning EYES ON THE PRIZE series documenting Dr. King's Poor People's Campaign of 1968. We hope you will join us for an evening of discussion,  inspiration, reflection, & hope, as we begin another new year in our collective struggles to win economic rights and abolish poverty.
  More about POWER Meetings
   
• About THE PROMISED LAND (1967-68)
  from PBS's American Experience/Eyes on the Prize website: Martin Luther King stakes out new ground for himself and the rapidly fragmenting civil rights movement. One year before his death, he publicly opposes the war in Vietnam. His Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) embarks on an ambitious Poor People's Campaign. In the midst of political organizing, King detours to support striking sanitation workers in Memphis, where he is assassinated. King's death and the failure of his final campaign mark the end of a major stream of the movement.
    
• Video Committee
  Tuesday Jan 22nd, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!

• Leadership Council
  Tuesday Dec 4th, 1:00 - 4:00 P.M. *Open to Leadership Council members
  SPECIAL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING TO DISCUSS THE
  CREATION OF A STATE-LEVEL POVERTY COMMISSION
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• Economic Human Rights Taskforce
  Tuesday Dec 4th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's EHR Taskforce / Contact us 
  We will be preparing for POWER's upcoming Public Forum for Healthcare Justice
   
• Economic Human Rights Taskforce
  Monday Dec 10th, 5:30 - 7:30 PM
  More about POWER's EHR Taskforce / Contact us 
  We will be doing outreach for POWER's upcoming Public Forum for Healthcare Justice
   
• Public Forum on Healthcare Justice!
  Tuesday Dec 11th, 6:30 - 8:00 P.M. 
  Portland's Community Public Access Station
  516 Congress Street, Portland, Maine
  Organized & sponsored by Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights
  more about this event.... | press release [Word]  |  flyer [Word]
  
  VIDEO: Watch POWER's Public Forum for Healthcare Justice! 
  
  POWER Public Forum on Healthcare Justice 12/10/07 [1hr:18mins]
  Watch it on Google Video |  Watch it on Community Public Access TV |  ( TOP )
  
  Footage of this event IS AIRING on local Community Public Access Channels 2 & 4 in Portland, ME. For schedule of air times, visit: www.ctn4maine.org or call the station at  775-2900. Contact POWER if you'd like to air this on a local public access station near you.
  
  
• Leadership Council
  Sunday Dec 16th, 5:30 P.M. *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
  
• General Monthly POWER meeting
  Monday Dec 17th, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  *NEW LOCATION: 644 Congress Street in Portland, ME
  Free pizza & snacks (feel free to bring snacks &/or chip in for pizza if you can)
  More about POWER Meetings
    
• Video Committee
  Tuesday Dec 18th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
  
• Homeless Persons Memorial Vigil
  Friday Dec 21st, 4:30PM, at the Preble Street Resource Center, 
  located at the corner of Preble St & Portland St, in Portland, ME
  Organized by Preble Street & Homeless Voices for Justice.
  For more info please call Preble Street Resource Center at 775-0026.
  The City of Portland Health & Human Services Department, Preble Street, & Homeless Voices for Justice invite you to join us at Portland's Homeless Persons Annual Memorial Vigil. The vigil will begin at Preble Street Resource Center, on the corner of Preble and Portland Streets. A candlelight procession will leave from Preble Street and end at Monument Square, where there will be a ceremony dedicated to homeless persons who have died and to recommit ourselves to the task of ending homelessness. All persons who are homeless, who have been homeless, who work with the homeless, and who are thankful they are not homeless are welcome to participate. As the late Joe Kreisler, who founded Preble Street, remarked during the long cold days of December, "Two thousand years ago, there was no room at the inn. And there is still no room at the inn" for many of our neighbors. Please join us on the eve of the longest night of the year.

• Maine Association of Interdependent Neighborhood's Annual Conference: "Whose House? Our House! Finding Our Legislative Voices Together!"
  Friday Nov 2nd, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM, at the State House, Augusta, Maine
  No conference fee, lunch is provided, free childcare (please pre-register),
  Travel & childcare reimbursements available for those who need it.
  more information  |  register online  |  printable agenda/registration form [PDF]  |  poster [PDF]
  
  This year's MAIN Annual Conference will focus on learning how we can use our voices more effectively in the Legislature and at the State House. We want to get comfortable with the building and with how we can be involved. There will be two sessions of each workshop/presentation, one in the morning and another in the afternoon; the topics include: I. Mock Public Hearing, II. Tour of the State House & Office Building, III. There Ought to Be a Law,  IV. Relationships & Legislative Success, and V. Economic Human Rights: A Foundation for Our Work.
  
  POWER members Janine Corbett & Jesse Vear will be hosting a workshop called: "Economic Human Rights: A Foundation for Our Work." There will be 2 sessions for this workshop, so if you miss the morning session you can catch it in the afternoon. The morning session is from 10:35-12:00 & the afternoon session is from 2:10-3:30.
  
  The conference will also be featuring "There Ought to be a Law," a film about how an average Maine woman, passionate about an issue, gets involved in the legislative process.
  For more info:  www.thereought2bealaw.com 
  
  For more info, to find out about car pooling, or to pre-register after 10/25, call Chris Rusnov (toll-free) 1-866-626-7059 ext 204 & visit MAIN's website: www.peacebreadjustice.org.
  
  NEW: Read Hillary Lister's article about this year's MAIN Conference: http://abilitymaine.org/news/ourhouse.html (posted on Ability Maine's website).
   
  
• Community Action Program (CAP) Symposium on Poverty
  Monday Nov 5th, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM,
  Augusta Civic Center, 79 Community Drive, Augusta, Maine
  Conference is free, with lunch provided. Reimbursement for travel and/or childcare available (see registration form). For more info: www.endingpovertyinmaine.org
  
  SPACE IS LIMITED & WILL FILL UP SO PLEASE REGISTER NOW!
  on-line registration form  |  printable registration form [PDF]  |  poster [JPG]
  Or contact Susan Richards at Western Maine Community Action: 645-4287.
  
  On November 5, 2007, over 200 people will be invited to come together at the Augusta Civic Center to look at poverty in Maine for the 2007 Community Action Program (CAP) Symposium on Poverty. This conference is an important step in our quest to end poverty in our state. Ultimately, we will develop an action plan for moving forward.
   
• ELECTION DAY!
  Tuesday Nov 6th - ALL DAY LONG!  
   
• Southern Maine Advocacy Conference: Inspiring Effective Advocacy
  Thursday Nov 8th, 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM,
  Sheraton Hotel, 363 Maine Mall Road, South Portland, Maine
  The conference fee is $30 but this fee can be waived if needed. Lunch is provided.
  To register: Download & print the brochure [in PDF format] or
  contact Crystal Bond (toll-free) at 1-866-626-7059, ext 205.
  Also contact Crystal  if you'd like more information about this conference. 
• Morning workshop topics include: Legislative Advocacy/Systems of Change: The Mechanics; TANF, ASPIRE, PaS; Employment: Issues for Maine Workers; Family Law; Housing: the Rights of Tenants in Maine; Health Care - MaineCare and Prescription Drugs; 
• Afternoon workshop topics include: Legislative Advocacy: Rules of the Game; TANF, ASPIRE, Parents as Scholars; Family Law; Asset Development and Protection; Health Care - Services Available to Vulnerable Populations; "Immigration 101" for Service Providers'
  This conference is sponsored by Maine Equal Justice Partners (www.mejp.org) &
  the National Association of Social Workers, Maine Chapter.

• Video Committee
  Friday Nov 9th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Leadership Council
  Tuesday Nov 13th, 3:00 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format] 
  
  
• General Monthly POWER Meeting: November
  Monday Nov 19th, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  1 Pleasant Street - on the 4th Floor - in Portland, Maine
  Free pizza & snacks (feel free to bring snacks &/or chip in for pizza if you can)
  More about POWER Meetings
    
• Economic Human Rights Taskforce
  Tuesday Nov 20th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. 
  More about POWER's EHR Taskforce / Contact us 
  We will be doing outreach for the upcoming Demonstration for Healthcare Justice
     
• Economic Human Rights Taskforce
  Monday Nov 26th, 3:00 - 6:00 P.M. 
  More about POWER's EHR Taskforce / Contact us 
  We will be doing outreach for the upcoming Demonstration for Healthcare Justice
   
  
• Demonstration for Health Care Justice!
  Tuesday Nov 27th, 4:00 - 4:30PM
  Monument Square, Portland, Maine
  Organized & sponsored by Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights
  more about this event....| photos | press release | flyer
      
  
• Press Conference to protect funding for housing!
  Friday Nov 30th, 10:00 AM
  Franklin Towers, 211 Cumberland Ave, Portland, ME
  Organized by the Portland Tenants Union, for info please contact: 207-615-RENT (7368)
  Attendees will be urging Maine Senators Snowe & Collins to help override a promised Bush veto of critically-needed housing funds. This veto directly threatens the homes of 500,000 American families, including nearly 750 families here in Maine. LET'S TELL OUR MAINE SENATORS STAND UP TO THE PRESIDENT & FULLY FUND ALL HOUSING PROGRAMS!!!!
  Resources: Funding Crisis [Word] | Media Advisory [Word] | Invited Participants [Word]
                   11/14/07 Center for Budget & Policy Priorities report [PDF format]
  ACT NOW TO HELP SAVE OUR HOMES!!!!
  From our friends at the National Alliance of HUD Tenants,  www.saveourhomes.org
  It's time to urge emergency action to address the Section 8 funding crisis. Unless Congress and HUD act NOW, as many as 400,000 low income families, elderly and disabled people could lose their homes, and as many as 500,000 apartments could be converted to market rents, as owners opt out of Section 8 due to the new funding uncertainty—the first time this has happened in the history of the Section 8 program! HUD now admits that the amount needed to renew all Section 8 contracts for one year is $8 billion. But neither HUD nor the White House Office of Management and Budget will ask Congress for the extra $2.5 billion needed, above the President’s inadequate request of only $5.5 billion for FY 2008. On Nov 14, the House voted to pass the TT-HUD Conference Committee Report, which included $6.14 billion, $612 million more than the President’s request. But President Bush has vowed to veto even this inadequate amount!
  Read the Action Alert [Word format] 
  Contact Maine's legislators & tell them to
  save housing for low-income families!
  You can use this tollfree number: 1-877-210-5351 & ask for your representative.
  Additionally, Mainers can contact our legislators using the contact info posted below.
  

  • SENATOR OLYMPIA SNOWE:
    Call: 1-800-432-1599 (toll free) | email Sen. Snowe
    Write:154 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
  • SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS:
    Call: 202-224-2523 | email Sen. Collins
    Write: 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 
  • REPRESENTATIVE TOM ALLEN:
    Call: 1-877-210-5351 (toll free); or 202-225-6116  | email Rep. Allen
    Write: 1127 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
  • REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MICHAUD:
    Call: 1-877-210-5351 (toll free); or 202-225-6306 | email Rep. Michaud
    Write: 1724 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
    

  Don't forget! Call 1-877-210-5351 today & demand your Congressperson to commit to providing full funding for housing for low-income families! Tell your representatives to vote to save the homes of 500,000 American families, including nearly 750 families here in Maine. Tell them MORE FUNDING IS DESPERATELY NEEDED, & that they MUST stand up to the administration & provide full funding for all housing programs!
  
  Resources: Funding Crisis [Word] - from the National Alliance of HUD Tenants
                   11/14/07 Center for Budget & Policy Priorities report [PDF format]
  
  More information is also available:
  Center for Budget & Policy Priorities: www.cbpp.org
  National Alliance of HUD Tenants: www.saveourhomes.org
  National Training & Information Center website: www.ntic-us.org.
  

• Video Committee
  Tuesday Oct 2nd, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  
• Leadership Council
  Monday Oct 8th, 6:30 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• Discussion Session on Economic Realities & National Discord,
  Part 2 of First Parish Congregational's October Peace Series
  Tuesday Oct 9th, 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.
  First Parish Congregational Church, U.C.C., located at 12 Beach Street, in Saco, Maine
  POWER members have been invited to participate in the 2nd of a 3 part Peace Series being held at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco. POWER members will be leading this session together with Senior Minister Doug Nielsen. In this session we'll examine the discord present in our national dialogue & within our national community, evident by such realities as homelessness & economic insecurity.
  
  Preceded by an "add to the stone salad" dinner from 5:30-6:00PM, this discussion session will take place from 6:00-7:00PM & is open for all those from highschool on up, with childcare & youth peace programming (including games, crafts, & stories) taking place in the church's lower level. After the discussion there will be a brief closing prayer service in the sanctuary.
  
  If you'd like to attend, please contact POWER to sign-up (or for more information).
   
  
• Leadership Council
  Monday Oct 14th, 5:00 P.M.  *Open to Leadership Council members
  Don't forget - we need to receive proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting by
  6:30PM THE NIGHT BEFORE the LCouncil Meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
• General Monthly POWER Meeting
  Monday Oct 15th, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  1 Pleasant St - 4th Floor - in Portland, Maine.
  Free pizza & snacks (feel free to bring snacks &/or chip in for pizza if you can)
  More about POWER Meetings
   
  After this month's general meeting we'll be screening our new 30 minute video documenting 
  POWER's Economic Human Rights Truth Commission - see below!
   
  POWER's Economic Human Rights Truth Commission, 11/30/05 [28:51 mins]
  Watch it on Google Video | ( TOP )
  
  
• Video Committee
  Tuesday Oct 16th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. *Open to Video Committee members
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  

• Video Committee
  Thursday Aug 2nd, 7:00 - 8:30 P.M.  
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  
• Video Committee
  Tuesday Aug 7th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
  
• Leadership Council
  Monday Aug 13th, 6:30 P.M.  
  Don't forget - proposed agenda items for this month's POWER meeting are due by 6:30PM
  THE NIGHT BEFORE the Leadership Council meeting - contact us to submit an agenda item.
  More about POWER's Leadership Council / Leadership Council Handout [Word format]
   
  
• POWER Outreach Day
  Tuesday Aug 14th, 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. [Rain date is Wed. Aug 15th, same time]
  Meet in Longfellow Sq - corner of State & Congress St - Portland, ME;
  Join fellow POWER members & supporters for POWER Outreach Day, where
  we'll be distributing POWER leaflets and put up flyers in various local neighborhoods
  on the Portland peninsula. For more information, please contact us!
  POWER Outreach Days are a joint initiative of POWER's Economic Human
  Rights Taskforce & POWER's Video Committee.
   
• POWER Meeting & Movie Night
  Monday August 20th, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  POWER meeting from 6:00-7:45 PM, Movie starts at 8:00 PM.
  Free pizza & snacks (feel free to bring snacks &/or chip in for pizza if you can)
  More about POWER Meetings / POWER Meeting Framework
  
  For the months of June, July, & August, after our regular meeting adjourns,
  we'll be having a "POWER movie night." For August's movie night we'll be
  screening "In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts" - a hard-
  hitting investigation of America's mounting debt crisis - what some are now
  calling the debt industrial complex. Consumer debt has doubled, bankruptcies
  and home foreclosures are skyrocketing, and now for the first time ever, most
  Americans OWE more than we MAKE. What's going on here? Join us for a
  special screening of IN DEBT WE TRUST & find out! For more information
  about this film please visit: www.indebtwetrust.org
  
   
  Download the Flyer for POWER Meeting & Movie Night [Word format]
   
  
• Video Committee
  Tuesday Aug 21st, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
  
  

• POWER Delegation to the US SOCIAL FORUM
  Wednesday June 27th - Sunday July 1st: in Atlanta, Georgia
  more about this delegation.... | photos | about US Social Forum | about PPEHRC
   
  
• "SiCKO" MOVIE OPENS IN PORTLAND, MAINE!
  Tuesday July 3rd: RALLY at 6:00 PM! MOVIE at 6:40 PM!
  at the Nickelodeon/Patriot Cinemas, on 1 Temple St. in Portland, Maine
  SiCKO is Michael Moore's powerful new documentary exposing the ravages of the US health care crisis & what we can do about it. POWER will be joining members of Maine State Nurses Association and other local organizations to rally around the opening of this important new documentary & pass out leaflets. For more information visit: http://www.calnurses.org/sicko/. POWER members interested in joining us are encouraged to call Stacey: 650-5092.
  More information about SiCKO posted on POWER's home page.
  
  
  "SiCKO" IS NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD!
  This incredible new documentary on the US healthcare crisis is now available at your local video store. Watch the trailer for SiCKO!
  
  MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SiCKO:
  Sicko investigates and exposes the devestating human costs of the health care crisis in America, focusing on the corruption, complicity, and the relentless drive for profits on the part of the health care industry's many players, including health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, managed care companies, the U.S. Congress and other government officials, healthcare lobbyists, and even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In an effort to get to the heart of the matter, Moore requested "Health Care Horror Stories" from the public. The response turned out to be overwhelming. When asked about this movie, Michael Moore said, "If people ask, we tell them 'Sicko' is a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on Earth." Sicko was selected for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival where it had its world premiere on May 19, 2007. In the film, Michael Moore accompanies a number of rescue workers and first responders  injured while responding to the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks to the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detainment camp (an American territory), to seek the medical treatment they needed, which they could not get at home in the United States. When unable to receive care there, they move on to Havana, Cuba, where they finally received the treatment they need, and at no cost. The New York Post quoted John Feal, head of the Fealgood Foundation which raises money for 9/11 first responders as saying that “From what I hear through the grapevine those people who went [to Cuba with Moore] are utterly happy." In an interview with Time Magazine, Moore states "I’m not trumpeting Castro or his regime. I just want to say to fellow Americans, "C’mon, we’re the United States! If they can [provide high quality care for all] we can do it."  The film also covers Moore's travels to Canada, France and the United Kingdom, investigating their health care systems and comparing them to those provided in the United States. Treasury Department probe: In a May 2, 2007 letter, the Office of Foreign Assets Control informed Moore that he was the subject of a civil investigation stemming from the filmmaker's March trip to Cuba. In the letter to Moore, a Treasury official noted that the department had no record of Moore obtaining a license that authorized him to "engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," alleging that Moore violated the United States embargo against Cuba.  A master copy of the film is being held outside the U.S. in case American authorities attempt to seize the film as part of the criminal investigation against Moore that arose from taking American 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba for medical treatment.
    
• Video Committee
  Thursday July 5th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
     
• Media College Video Production Intensive
  Saturday July 7th - July 9th, in Rhode Island
  3 day intensive focusing on video production hosted by the Media College of the UPoor .
  
  
  
• July Leadership Council
  Friday July 13th, 5:30 P.M.
   
   
  
• POWER Orientation! (Next one is in September)
  Monday July 16th, 5:30-6:00 P.M. -An intro to POWER & economic rights!
  Held just before monthly POWER meeting, every other month. 
  
  
• July POWER meeting & Movie Night
  Monday July 16th, 6:00 P.M.  (every 3rd Monday)
  POWER meeting from 6:00-7:45PM, Movie starts at 8:00 PM.
  FREE PIZZA!! Feel free to bring snacks to share. 
  *For the months of June, July, & August, after our regular meeting adjourns, we'll be having a "POWER movie night." For July's movie night we'll be screening "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" - the story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war. Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so. For more info visit: http://iraqforsale.org/
   
• Video Committee
  Tuesday July 17th, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M.
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!
   
• Video Committee 
  Thursday July 31st, 5:00 - 8:00 P.M. 
  More about POWER's Video Committee / Contact us to join this committee!