Grassroots organizers work to aid Lorain poor

Human rights initiative reaches out helping hand to poor

Even as you make advances in your struggle for political and civil rights, your economic human rights are probably being abused. So are your classmate's, your friend's and your neighbors'. This is the message that the new student-organized Economic Human Rights Initiative (EHRI) is trying to convey to the Oberlin College population.

The student-organized EHRI is a grassroots effort to help mobilize the poor in Lorain County. The organization is one of the country's first student efforts to organize around the national Economic Human Rights Campaign, which was started by the National Welfare Rights Union in response to President Bill Clinton's welfare cuts in 1996. "The Economic Human Rights Campaign focuses on raising the issue that cuts in welfare, food stamps and public assistance are a human rights violation," said Heather West, Program Coordinator of Grassroots Leadership Development of Lorain.

Founded two weeks ago, members of EHRI have already launched an ambitious campaign to inform Oberlin students about the persistent violations of people's economic rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees jobs at a living wage, adequate food, housing and health care and a quality education for all citizens.

"EHRI's first steps are to raise awareness of the issue that poverty is an injustice and to raise money to send low-income leaders in Lorain to the Poor People's Summit in October," said college junior Alison Merz. The Summit, hosted by Temple University, will be a national gathering of poor people's organizations. It is expected to be a significant mobilizing event for the Economic Human Rights movement.

Lorain County has been hit hard by the welfare cuts. According to a report by the Council for Economic Opportunities, over 1,000 Lorain residents have lost their food stamps and public assistance in the last year. Between 1996 and 1997, 600 jobs were lost in Lorain County.

This past summer Merz, college senior Viet Le, college sophomore Bridget Matros and college senior Lendri Purcell interned at grassroots organizations that supported the national campaign. The organizations included the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, which is a chapter of the National Welfare Rights Union and Grassroots Leadership Development of Lorain. "Grassroots trains new and emerging neighborhood groups in Lorain how to organize," said West.

When the fall semester rolled in, Grassroots asked Oberlin students who were involved in the national campaign to ally with poor people's groups in Lorain. The students saw this as an opportunity for them to share their resources with Lorain.

"One of the most effective things we can do is to provide concrete support to the local movement against economic injustice," said Le. "Whether that be childcare, transportation or just informing people with language they can identify with, I think we can really help these local groups get off the ground."

Lorain resident Kay Marley was denied her right to proper medication earlier this year because the pharmacist of a nearby drugstore refused to accept her Medicare. She expressed enthusiasm for EHRI. "I'm active with Grassroots and I think it's fantastic that the students want to help poor people in Lorain protect their economic rights," she said.

To these ends, EHRI organized a flurry of activities this week. They have tabled outside Wilder and showed the movie "Poverty Outlaw." A speaker panel with local and out-of-state activists will happen Saturday in Wilder at 3 p.m. A bingo game with prizes will take place next Friday afternoon in Wilder Bowl.

EHRI wants to stress that even though students here may not be impoverished or homeless, they have a greater stake in this campaign than they might think. "The reality is many of us are one federal loan, one grant short of losing our right to a quality education. . .As for our parents, they are about five paychecks short from being in deep shit," said Le.

According to Oberlin College's Office of Institutional Research, 60 percent of Oberlin students received need-based financial aid last year.

Matros, also a coordinator of EHRI, remarked, "If it weren't for the scholarship that I'm getting from the Bonner program, I would really be struggling to attend college. I don't forget that there's a very fine line between me and the people pitching tents out there."