Lessons Learned, Tent City Meeting Tonight
October 9, 2008Posted in: 0 Comments
From Experience Comes Lessons
The past week of early voting was like being in the eye of a hurricane.
For those that have not experienced a hurricane, first you experience the brunt of the destructive winds, the most destructive forces. Then as the eye passes over there is an eerie calm. The tail winds are usually much less damaging, if at all, and mostly all wet.
First the good news. The total number of our unhoused friends we personally took to vote is 226. This comes out to almost 10% of the total number of early voters. Pretty cool, eh?
Why was this so cool? Because many of our friends don’t vote because of fear. If someone helps them get through the process, they come out knowing they Matter!
My statement from last Thursday captures it the best and takes you to that very moment: “I have to tell you, there is NOTHING cooler than seeing people who have been told they don’t Matter, walking out after voting a couple inches taller, knowing they do.”
The number of our volunteers that now want to vote at Tent City, and take our friends with them to assist has ballooned.
We had hoped to get 100 people early to the polls last week, and the balance Tent City weekend. Clearly the interest is much higher by our friends and volunteers! How cool is that?
I think we are 100% assured of hitting our 500 number. This is only 274 more voters between now and November 4th. About 150 or so of our friends I talked to last week wanted to wait until the candidate’s forum at Tent City to make a decision. If our estimate of 300 volunteers, (half of our Tent City Volunteers) do go with our friends for early voting Saturday, Sunday or Monday, clearly we will exceed our 500 goal.
Why is it so important we do this?
Because of the destructive winds of the hurricane.
I am not that smart, it took me a while to figure some of this out. Some I find very hard to write about. So many things, I bounce between anger, rage and sadness. Really want to know?
- Some people who never cared about our unhoused friends in the least, suddenly cared because they were going to vote, fearing the unhoused will vote one way or the other.
- Everyone seemed to be just trying to use the unhoused to fit their agenda/story line/fear. VERY few seemed to really give a crap about them.
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1 Does Matter, 1 Does Vote
October 4, 2008Posted in: 0 Comments
10/4/2008 - As of last night, we helped at least 211 unhoused friends vote. I know the real number was greater because at one point we had 3 vans bringing people in, I was actually too busy helping to count. I only want to report the numbers I am absolutely, 100% sure of, that is 211. (This does not count the people from the 12 other shelters who brought their people direct.)
Last night going to the shelters and kitchens the vast majority of our friends were saying ”I already voted”.
Let me repeat this: The vast majority of our friends were saying, “I already voted”.
HOW freaking cool is that?
I actually had someone ask me, ”Do you think “those people” would have voted if they did not have that window?” or “If you had not brought them?”
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Grrrrrrr!!!
October 3, 2008Posted in: 0 Comments
10/3/2008- As of this morning, we have personally delivered 143 unhoused voters to the polls, most of whom are people who didn’t think they matter. It is so cool to see the pride. It is so cool to have people come up to me privately and say they will vote if I will help them, they can’t read. This is why we are doing this, to help.
This won’t surprise anyone, but people are starting to make this political. It is NOT! If this campaign was to help senior citizens, I am certain we would not be gathering such criticism.
Yesterday was the first time I ran into things I am very uncomfortable with.
- In yesterday’s Blade Pages of Opinion (near the bottom) a gentleman said he believes a “vast majority” of the homeless are not capable of making informed decisions on the issues or candidates.” This was the same thing they used to say about women, and slaves. It is called Civil Rights. This is the EXACT reason 1Matters.org, NEOCH, the ACLU and others filed the federal Civil Rights suit, to guarantee the right to vote for ALL.
- On many of our trips, the Republican observers would come out and take pictures or video of our groups getting out of our vans.
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1Matters – 1Votes
October 2, 2008Posted in: 0 Comments
10/2/2008 - Yesterday we personally took a total of 37 people to the polls, (59 two day total) and we saw at least a dozen more friends there who went on their own.
Yesterday we had to double our resources, adding the Furtherance Foundation van, piloted by Don Schiewer and the Food For Thought people, and the Cherry Street van, as well as an after dinner shift.
There are two major reasons why what we are doing is SO important:
- Other than the group that needed to register as new voters, probably half of our friends needed a change of address form before they could vote. Had we waited until 11/4, these would be people that could not vote in the general election, and would find this out at the polls. And these are people who thought they were already registered accurately. Our unhoused friends are just a small part of the 50,000 housed and unhoused voters the BOE said came back from undeliverable addresses.
- Secondly, and more importantly, some of our friends have a writing or literacy issue, or an unwariness of the process. Once I assured them I would help them, that I would walk them through process, helping them fill out the form, and if necessary even helping them vote if they needed it, only then did they agree to vote. 18 plus needed help with the ballot application, and I assisted 4 in voting.
I have to tell you, there is NOTHING cooler than seeing people who have been told they don’t Matter, walking out after voting a couple inches taller, knowing they do.
