Thursday, July 16, 2009
Courier-Journal Coverage: Poverty conference at Spalding
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By Jere Downs
jdowns@courier-journal.com
Cheri Honkala began her activist career as a single mother on welfare, leading raucous squatting campaigns in North Philadelphia through the 1990s to raise awareness about housing shortages and economic injustice. This weekend the 47-year-old activist leads a national conference at Spalding University.
An estimated 300 social workers, academics, working people, and labor activists are expected to attend "Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference To End Poverty."
"It is so urgent right now," Honkala, 47, said in an interview about the conference's goal to organize poor people to combat housing, education, and economic issues.
"It is like seeing children and families on a railroad track. It is not really a choice whether you push them off to safety."
Now, Honkala is the national organizer of the Poor People's Human Rights Campaign, a national nonprofit group organizing in Philadelphia, Minnesota, and the Missisippi delta areas, among others areas. For sponsors, Honkala's organization teamed up with the local chapter of Women In Transition, a nonprofit advocacy group for poor famliies, and the Social Welfare Action Alliance, a nonprofit group with chapters in Denver, Chicago and elsewhere.
"There are probably a dozen conferences around poverty each year," said Jennifer R. Jewell, a social work professor at Spalding University and co-founder of Women In Transition in Louisville. "What is important about this conference is it is directly led by people who are on the front line. It is such hard work to do what we do. This really rejuvenates us each year."
Presentations of research on poverty and workshops on activism make up a long agenda held at the Egan Leadership Center at 4th and Breckinridge Streets Friday and Saturday. Speakers from Nashville, Tenn., New Orleans, La., and Tampa, Florida are among those who will share expertise. Participants can also take "poverty tours," in the region, narrated by local activists who will talk about Louisville-area issues will also take place Friday and Saturday, departing from Spalding.
Reporter Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669.
If you go
Additional Facts
What: Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference To End Poverty
Where: Egan Leadership Center, Spalding University, 4th & Breckinridge Streets
When: Thursday-Sunday.Cost: Many events are free. Some conference registration fees may apply.
For more information: contact Khalilah V. Collins at (502) 432-2029.
jdowns@courier-journal.com
Cheri Honkala began her activist career as a single mother on welfare, leading raucous squatting campaigns in North Philadelphia through the 1990s to raise awareness about housing shortages and economic injustice. This weekend the 47-year-old activist leads a national conference at Spalding University.
An estimated 300 social workers, academics, working people, and labor activists are expected to attend "Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference To End Poverty."
"It is so urgent right now," Honkala, 47, said in an interview about the conference's goal to organize poor people to combat housing, education, and economic issues.
"It is like seeing children and families on a railroad track. It is not really a choice whether you push them off to safety."
Now, Honkala is the national organizer of the Poor People's Human Rights Campaign, a national nonprofit group organizing in Philadelphia, Minnesota, and the Missisippi delta areas, among others areas. For sponsors, Honkala's organization teamed up with the local chapter of Women In Transition, a nonprofit advocacy group for poor famliies, and the Social Welfare Action Alliance, a nonprofit group with chapters in Denver, Chicago and elsewhere.
"There are probably a dozen conferences around poverty each year," said Jennifer R. Jewell, a social work professor at Spalding University and co-founder of Women In Transition in Louisville. "What is important about this conference is it is directly led by people who are on the front line. It is such hard work to do what we do. This really rejuvenates us each year."
Presentations of research on poverty and workshops on activism make up a long agenda held at the Egan Leadership Center at 4th and Breckinridge Streets Friday and Saturday. Speakers from Nashville, Tenn., New Orleans, La., and Tampa, Florida are among those who will share expertise. Participants can also take "poverty tours," in the region, narrated by local activists who will talk about Louisville-area issues will also take place Friday and Saturday, departing from Spalding.
Reporter Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669.
If you go
Additional Facts
What: Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference To End Poverty
Where: Egan Leadership Center, Spalding University, 4th & Breckinridge Streets
When: Thursday-Sunday.Cost: Many events are free. Some conference registration fees may apply.
For more information: contact Khalilah V. Collins at (502) 432-2029.
Labels: Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference to Abolish Poverty, Cheri Honkala, Courier-Journal, Jennifer Jewell, Khalilah Collins
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