H.O.P.E. Prevents Harmful Budget Cuts
For the second year in a row, H.O.P.E. (Homeless Organizing for Power & Equality) has successfully secured critical funding in the Shelby County budget for homeless services. Last year H.O.P.E. won historic levels of county funding, paving the way for major initiatives such as the 100 Homes Campaign, the creation of 69 new units of supportive housing for families experiencing homelessness, and the creation of a special Veterans Court.
This year, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell initially proposed budget cuts that would reduce services for the most vulnerable by almost 70%. Thanks to the hard work of H.O.P.E. members and allies, those cuts failed. Instead, $200,000 will be allotted for the Mayors’ Plan to End Homelessness. These funds will be used to provide early outreach and in-home case management, substance abuse treatment, medical and psychiatric care for 100 of the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in our city. These are individuals who, under current conditions without housing and services, are projected to die within the next two years. The funding secured by H.O.P.E. will help support individuals moving into permanent supportive housing until their Medicare benefits are processed.
Your support has made this program possible. H.O.P.E. will continue to fight for a county where every human being has the right to a life with dignity. Our deepest thanks go to Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy for his help and constant support.
H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center-sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently homeless or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community. For meeting times and dates, call 901-300-0006.
Know Your Rights
On June 22nd, H.O.P.E. members organizing with our ‘Street-Watch’ project hosted a ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop at Holy Community Church at 602 Looney in North Memphis. We had a great turn out and got to meet a lot of new people. Special thanks to Jacob’s Well, H.O.P.E. organizer, Marian Bacon, Jamey Lee of Holy Community Church, and Josh Spickler with theShelby County Office of the Public Defender. We are looking forward to next month’s workshop, which will be held at the Cathedral of Grace Church in South Memphis.
Street-Watch educates our brothers and sisters on the street about their rights when encountering law enforcement; and, it focuses on how as a community, we can document instances of police harassment and abuse. We believe we can use data compiled from complaints to pinpoint areas where police harassment is most likely to occur, and help identify ‘problem officers’ who believe that a badge and a gun give them the right to treat people on the streets of Memphis like second-class citizens.
Room to Grow
For about a month, H.O.P.E. members have been rolling up theirs sleeves and getting down in the dirt with our Garden Crew. With the help of Garden Coordinator, Dallas Holland and Julia X, members have been educating themselves about the sustainable food movement, working in community gardens throughout the city, and laying the groundwork for their own garden in Midtown, where many of our members reside.
But, the Garden Crew is about more than just learning how to grow fruits and veggies. We want to show the community that even if some of us do not have homes, we are still important; and we have the desire and drive to make the neighborhoods in which we live more beautiful, sustainable, and vibrant places for the entire community.
You can provide support for this project by donating hand rakes, shovels, hoes, garden gloves, wheelbarrows, tarps, untreated lumber, screws, nails, wooden palettes, sling blades, hand pruners, water hose, volunteers, organic seeds, and other assorted garden supplies. (No chemical fertilizer, please.) If you would like to donate supplies, or join us in the garden one day, please contact Dallas Holland at dallasholland@gmail.com
Women United!
The experience of homelessness is uniquely different for women. This is especially true in Memphis where there are few, if any, services for homeless single women who do not have a substance abuse issue. 92% of women experiencing homelessness have suffered severe physical and/or sexual abuse, and dealt with issues of sexual harassment within in the homeless services system.
This month marked the kick-off for the H.O.P.E. Women’s Caucus; a sub-group of H.O.P.E. that will provide a space where members who identify as women can get mutual emotional support, organize around issues that specifically effect women on the street, and participate self-defense trainings. For more information on how you can support this project, please contact Ace Madjlesi at acemadjlesi@gmail.com.
Feeding the Movement
H.O.P.E would like to once again thank Just for Lunch and Trolley Stop Market for showing some love by donating meals each month for our weekly H.O.P.E. meetings! We would also like to thank Memphis Center for Independent Living for providing us with space for our meetings while we seek a permanent location. There are lots of ways to feed the movement, and we would like to thank all of our allies for their continued support.