Dispatches from the Front: Reflections on Occupy Philadelphia

The Occupy Wall Street Movement has stirred tremendous interest, excitement, and controversy throughout the nation. No doubt it is touching an important nerve in our society, and is raising to the surface some of the most critical issues we face as a nation. Since the movement spread to Philadelphia last week, hundreds of protesters have set up tents at City Hall and many more have joined them during the day. Several members of the Project HOME community – residents, alumni, staff, and volunteers – have spent time at City Hall to participate and observe. We have also worked with some of the organizers to make sure they know about our outreach services and Where To Turn guides, so they can make helpful connections with many of the men and women who are homeless and stay around City Hall.

We believe there are some vital points of resonance between our vision statement, “None of us are home until all of us are home,” and the issues being raised by the Occupy Wall Street/Philadelphia activists. We want to share some reflections from members of the Project HOME community:

Joan McConnon is a co-founder and Associate Executive Director. She shares the following thoughts after going down to City Hall:

In May I was invited to speak to the graduating class at Cabrini College. I shared these reflections with them:

“As I stand here talking with you today, I remain conscious of what I believe is most critical at this time in our country’s history and that is that my generation needs to hear from all of you. We face many serious challenges today and yet there is an eerie silence across our nation; no one seems to be asking the fundamental question how much is enough.  People are suffering and our environment continues to be compromised yet there is no real outcry for what is just and fair and decent. We are often subject to polarizing dialogue instead of true problem solving. Those in power today need to hear from your generation that you are not satisfied….you are not satisfied that our veterans are forced to sleep on our streets, you are not satisfied that working families lose their homes because their child gets sick and they cannot pay the medical bills, you are not satisfied that our waterways are allowed to be contaminated with chemicals from the production of natural gas, and you are not satisfied that in this country of great abundance, our children go hungry. Yours is a bolder vision for a brighter future – not just for yourselves but for those living in Norristown, in Philadelphia, in Detroit and across this nation. You know that in this country filled with brilliant minds and tenacious spirits we can find a way to educate all our children and provide them the opportunity to reach their potential. You are the generation that ignites revolutions with a tweet; we need your creativity, your energy, your innovative thinking to tackle these complex problems. Make no mistake; they can be solved and it will be your generation that will have to find the moral courage to seek solutions for the common good.”

So when I heard that the protest movement which had started on Wall Street was headed to Market Street in Philly I knew I had to go and stand in solidarity with those young and old who were willing to speak out against the assault on the 99 percent. With our democracy being sold to the highest bidder and our people and jobs being sold to the lowest bidder, it was heartwarming to see the 99 percent  coming together to find strength in our common struggles for housing, jobs, health care, and education. One sign read “Medical Bankruptcy has a human face”; another said “I work 2 jobs, have no health coverage and cannot afford the medicine I need to stay alive.” As I read sign after sign, I was struck by the fact that we talk about facts and figures – the growing gap between the rich and poor, the cutting of a program that provides utility assistance to lower income Americans, the unemployment rate at 9 percent. What we are missing are the faces and the stories of the lives devastated by policies that serve the economic interest of a few at the life-threatening expense of the many. As one sign read, "This is America's Autumn." Let's hope Occupy Philadelphia is one more spark that ignites a national movement for a democracy that represents 100 percent of the people and holds our elected officials accountable for solutions that support the common good.

Benjamin Mitchell, an alumnus of Project HOME (who was featured in an earlier post on this blog), shares about his time at Occupy Philadelphia:

Honestly, on the weekends I prefer to stay in my underwear in front of the T.V and channel surf, so it was with reservation that I showered, dressed, and journeyed down to City Hall to spend time at the Occupy Philadelphia protest. The day earlier I’d made my first trip to the site seeking out friendly and familiar faces. I recognized few people but I identified the energy. I sought out an associate and exchanged numbers to volunteer my service (we’d participated in the 100,000 Homes survey together). Later that afternoon I received a phone call from my boss who was excited about what was going on and wanted to know how she could get involved. She told me that she planned on being there the following day. So of course, me being the brown nose that I am, I agreed to meet her.

The closer I got to Center City, the more excited I was as I anticipated who I might see and where I might assist. As the bus got closer I heard the driver announce that he could go no further – and as I looked out the window I was met with a glorious sight. Throngs, mobs, crowds in abundance taking up the whole one side of Market Street chanting, “This is what democracy looks like!”

Surprised to hear my name being called, I looked  to see my boss in the midst of the crowd with a sign almost as big as her. As we marched down Market Street to 6th Street and up to Independence Hall, I cannot fully express how grateful I was to be there and how proud I was of the folk making up this crowd, this movement. It was the 16th anniversary of the Million Man March, an event I didn’t make, but here I was on this day making my voice count. I am appreciative of Project HOME’s Advocacy department that helped nurture my voice. There were times when the topics were way over my head but I understood just being there, being a part of the whole, was very important. I thank my boss at New Pathways for giving me so much leeway as to have time still to participate in calling for positive changes in our society.

We will have more reflections from Project HOME members on Occupy Philadelphia in upcoming blog posts. If you want to share your own reflections and thoughts on the movement, please do so in the Comments section.