
NASW-PA
had the biggest turn-out ever for lobby day 2004, 450 attendees.The day
began with opening remarks by Bob Mason, Member of the NASW-PA Social
Policy Committee and incoming Chair, Cynthia Corbin, NASW-PA President.
Both spoke about the role of social workers in bringing about social change
and acting on a macro level.
Willie Baptist spoke on the
right to HEALTH and what that means to citizens and the difference between
having health care and having one's right to health actually fulfilled.
Groups then broke off into
trainings on Economic Human Rights. These trainings were run by members
of the KWRU social work strategy commitee.
The trainings focused on the right to health since that was the focus
of the day but emphasis was put on what that right actually meant and
that it went well beyond health care.
The
rally portion of the day followed. Various Penn legislators spoke on the
current violations witnessed across the state resulting from the lack
of these rights being guaranteed in PENN and the importance of lobbying
to change this. Tara Colon spoke about the effect on her life by living
in a country that does not guaranteed these rights and very powerfully
outlined what it is like to truly suffer under the current political and
social climate.