Economic Justice

Martin Hart Landsberg speaking at Plenary Session One from a recent Economic Town Hall in Portland Oregon. Actual presentation is 35 minutes in length (the second half of the file is black, just ignore it).

The 2009 ROP Caucus was a whirlwind of fascinating ideas, transformative strategizing, & inspiring people. There was action, networking, resource sharing, learning, marching, dancing, and multi-organizational, multi-ethnic power building. 

The last week of January is the annual One Night Homelessness Count, when Community Action Agencies (CAA) count the number of homeless people in each county. I'm afraid of what we might find. But discovering the real dimensions of what we are facing provides us with the necessary documentation and the critical awareness to move to crucial and creative solutions. Solutions that dig down to the roots of our families' and communities' economic insecurity and plant a new, more principled (and perhaps more homegrown) way to use and distribute our communities' economic, social and environmental resources.

The count is a huge job that can require many volunteers. Members of at least three ROP member groups, Yamhill Valley Peacemakers, Human Dignity Advocates in Crook County, and the West County Council for Human Dignity in Washington County, are already planning to help out. Can you offer the services of your human dignity group (or maybe just yourself and a couple of friends) to assist in this counting process?

What a week it has been!  At the ROP office our highlights of the week include our pipes freezing and towing the ROP car from the ditch.  (Feel free to let that inspire you to get your much needed donation in the mail to us or at www.rop.org!)

Despite these challenges, we have been delighting at the winter wonderland outside of our windows.  But for many people in our communities, when you really have no place to go, it's more of a nightmare than wonderland out there.  In Forest Grove, several area churches and community groups, including volunteers from ROP member group West County Council for Human Dignity have created their own Miracle on College Way...