17 de Octubre: Eventos

At St. Mary’s Center, a community center serving underserved seniors in West Oakland, a group of community members and allies gathered on October 17 to observe the day dedicated by the United Nations to ending poverty.

On October 17, members of St. Mary’s Center gathered to observe the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The day was founded by All Together in Dignity (ATD) and focuses on Article 25 of the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and their family, including food,clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services…”

The day is now recognized around the world and focuses on hearing directly from those who have been subjected to extreme poverty. St. Mary’s Center provides a platform for community members and allies to speak out on the problems and solutions to poverty and oppression.

Carol Johnson, executive director of St. Mary’s Center, eloquently framed the purpose of the event by stating, “Poverty denies the right to food, denies the right to housing and denies the right to health care and denies the right to transportation… We are here together, just like people from all over the world to work together towards a world without discrimination.”

The Dance Performance

Jean Toney, organizer and artist at St. Mary’s, began the event with a performance called, “Watch My Cart.” She told the gathering that the motivation for her piece came from an event that happened at St. Mary’s Center.

When a man came to the center one day and needed medical attention, Toney asked if there was anything she could help him with, and he asked her to please watch his cart. After a brief conversation with the man, it was brought to light how much a cart meant to the man and served as a touchstone to many others who carry their belongings on the street.

Toney’s performance was accompanied by a poem by Mary Rudge, the poet laureate of Alameda, with the same title, “Watch My Cart.”

WATCH MY CART

by Mary Rudge

It is my home.

In it is everything I own.

I have no one to turn to,

I need something to return to,

It’s my cart.

On the sidewalk I’m alone

I sleep beside it,

care for what’s inside it.

Nothing a thief would choose, I’m sure

yet I’m more at ease to know that it’s secure

the least thing has value to one who is poor:

dented cans,

a pair of socks — torn,

a paper with my name

that proves that I was born,

a tattered sweater, very worn,

a blanket, for those cold times

a plastic cup to hold for dimes

No place to stay, no place to sleep,

all I own is in a cart, so little to keep.

Thousands homeless in Alameda County

I walk so very far, so very tired

Tens of thousands homeless in California

not ever a job for which I can be hired —

Millions homeless in the nation

Millions more jobless in the nation

so very ill

too serious for the free clinic —

The center director said, “He can’t die here,

call the paramedics they will …”

(He pleads, I cannot pay a hospital bill)

Statistics show millions of children

without health care in the US

Millions of families without

health care

“Take him to emergency”

concerned we asked him, “What else can we do?

Anyone we can call?

Anyone at all to know about you?”

He bowed his head

and thought it through,

pondering, wondering,

and said,

“No one — my cart, is all I’ve got

what’s inside is not a lot,

but will you

Watch my cart?”

That night in my dreams

The shopping carts came,

each one had a spirit that moved it on,

all night through space,

each city, the nation,

they took on a strange configuration,

of dance until dawn —

A gigantic Queen of Carts

with tin can jewels, and newspaper cape,

and a salvage-stuff crown

led each cart to take their new shape,

the carts became the personas of the poor

rolled from all across the country —

through the White House door —

of the people, by the people,

for the people

Give me your

tired, your poor …

The wretched refuse

cast off from your shore

The lost, the tempest-tossed

to sign new orders into law

granting homes for all as legal right

with a guaranteed income, for whatever they could do,

musicians, dancers, artists, writers too,

people cleaning up the

streets and beaches,

washing all the windows

so the sun shines through

and designers made fantastic materials

making comfortable homes and the

man returned from the hospital to see

his shopping cart by his own front door,

a joyful sight —

I awoke in this light!

Oh the wheels of the shopping carts

roll and roam,

only to the stores to bring groceries home,

oh the cans inside, full of nourishing food,

and everyone home in a good neighborhood.

And the world is good.

Made right by the creator’s art

to answer the pleas of the poor

who could only turn to strangers like

me and you

to ask please

watch my cart.

Statements were read about the causes of homelessness, such as high medical bills, loss of housing and the impact on one’s loss of dignity.

Then, a group of dancers provided movement that embodied the misery weighing down on a homeless person and the resurrection that occurs when one’s needs are met.

The play ended with the famous Civil Rights hymn, “We Shall Overcome,” and brought the energy up in the center with the spirit of both connection and resilience.

A Light in the Dark

A personal story of homelessness and finding the motivation to change from within was shared by Keith Arivnwine, a member of St. Mary’s. He explained how he had to get his mind right in order to focus on not being homeless.

“When I was homeless I was always hustling,” Arivnwine said. “I kept hustling all day because I didn’t have any money in my pocket.”

Keith presented his photo documentary on homelessness and described how he used to live on the streets right in the neighborhood of St. Mary’s Center.

During that tough period in his life, a man named Mr. Jones was very important to Keith Arivnwine and provided him with wise counsel and encouragement that helped him towards the path of changing his life for the better. He described Jones as a “light in the dark” for him and many other people in the community as well.

After spending a brief time in jail, Arivnwine entered the winter shelter at St. Mary’s Center and the support he found helped him make the transition to permanent housing.

One of the last photos in Arivnwine’s presentation was an image of the door to his own place. As he shared that image of his new home, he said, “Change needs to come from within and I am not the same person anymore. After all the places that I have crashed, I am so happy to have four walls to call my own.”

Threats to the safety net

Ecaterina “Cat” Burton, the food justice advocate with the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and Jodie Reed, from California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA), both gave passionate talks about the importance of advocating both for yourself and the community.

Burton and Reed explained the constant threats by the federal government to cut funding and dismantle the safety net services, and the urgent need to protect food stamps and Social Security programs.

Cat Burton described the devastating $40 billion dollar cut to the Farm Bill. Both Social Security and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) are successful means of helping to lift people out of poverty.

Many members of St. Mary’s Center wore light blue in honor of Maya Angelou’s call for our “collective determination to turn the pain of the blues into the sky of unlimited possibilities.”

October 17 became a day of recognizing the importance of even the smallest victory over economic injustice. The victory is in each and all of us in the struggle towards dignity and liberation.

http://www.thestreetspirit.org/st-marys-center-honors-the-un-internation...