June 9, 1999

Members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union hit the streets today to begin a long summer of organizing and human rights documentation in Philadelphia. We began at 11:00 am to visit the city's Office of Emergency Shelters and Services (OESS), in order to register several members who are currently homeless. A security guard attempted to seize all of our flyers -- the same flyers we were trying to give to people who needed emergency help with food, clothing, and housing. We went around to the administrative offices and could only speak to a supervisor who was unable to help us at the time.

By noon, our organizers visited the Unity and the North District welfare offices to pass out flyers about our organization. We had already heard so many people's problems that we called for an emergency membership meeting for the next day at 10:00 am.

Finally, members of the KWRU walked the first streets of North Philadelphia's 7th ward. We knocked on doors, passed out flyers, and spoke to the many residents enduring the 95 degree heat. Many people welcomed us and were familiar with our work. Furthermore, our flyers listed our phone number and almost immediately our office was inundated with calls from Kensington residents dealing with the crises of poverty.

Also today, we were celebrating the birthdays of two of our leaders, Liz and Esther Ortiz. Liz is still recovering from triple bypass surgery and dealing with her own homeless situation. Esther continues to struggle with lupus cancer and a lack of adequate health insurance. We know that the economic human rights violations we will document in Philadelphia over the next several months are the same problems that we struggle with on a daily basis.