Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality (H.O.P.E.) is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization who’s members are exclusively people who are currently or have formerly experienced homelessness. Fresh off the heels of victory in our ROAD HOME campaign, where H.O.P.E. won more than $500,000 of County funding for homeless and veterans issues this organization is eager to continue the fight for our people.
DIGNITY
H.O.P.E is continuing to investigate allegations of criminal wrong doing at two local homeless service providers at the request of our members. H.O.P.E. is getting a lot of reports from women experiencinghomelessness that employees at a local shelter are having inappropriate sexual conduct with female clients in exchange for shelter or “PLAY TO STAY” as it has been called. H.O.P.E. will be performing street outreach now and over the course of the next few weeks and months to reach out to unsheltered women to document these cases to pass on to the DA and Police to DEMAND a full investigation and prosecution of any and all offenders.
At a July 2ND meeting with H.O.P.E.’s legal counsel we have received new information, documentation and evidence of clear sexual harassment at ANOTHER service provider location. To make matters worse the employee in question who was suspended for lewd comments and inappropriate financial propositions to female clients with mental illness was allowed to return to work today. As a result at least one of the female clients has gone back to the streets abandoning her housing out of fear. H.O.P.E. is in the process of drafting a letter and if need be exploring legal, public,media and direct action to resolve this situation and ensure that all men, women, and children are safe and treated with dignity and respect within our social service network.
SELF DETERMINATION
H.O.P.E. is also pursuing the creation of a Worker’s Co-op to facilitate part time income sources for it’s members. This venture, led by H.O.P.E. organizer, Paul Garner, would involve members of H.O.P.E. being trained in silk screen printing for the creation of t-shirts for organizations, church youth organizations, political campaigns and grassroots organizing groups. This service will be fully owned and operated by the members themselves.
H.O.P.E. welcomes Dan Levin to this project, who has volunteered to offer his services as a business consultant for the H.O.P.E. worker’s co-op. Mr. Levin will be aiding the group in writing a business plan as well as working through the nuts and bolts of how to set up and run a business enterprise owned and operated by the members.
The new steering committee has began working on bylaws,qualifications for membership and a feasibility study to start a co-op of our members to make and sell t-shirts. The group is currently preparing workshops to train the members in all aspects of running the business venture and creating the shirts themselves.
MUTUAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
H.O.P.E. is currently working to set up a series of free self defense courses for women experiencing homelessness with a strong facilitated emotional healing therapeutic component.
SOLIDARITY
H.O.P.E. has also joined as a member of the Memphis/Shelby Homelessness Consortium. The Consortium is made up of more than 40 member agencies, led by the Community Alliance for the Homeless, a nonprofit that provides planning, technical assistance and service coordination to public and private agencies working to end homelessness in Shelby County.
Members of H.O.P.E. attended the annual meeting of the Memphis and Shelby County Homeless Consortium and presented the CHAMPION award for outstanding service in the cause of homelessness by an elected official to County Commissioner Steve Mulroy. H.O.P.E. also elected member Robbie Howard as the group official representative on this body. Robbie is eager to get involved and get our members involved in the Street outreach and/ or Employment/job committees.