Get involved!
Food Not Bombs is catering the 5th annual RePHRAME Forum “Eliminating Poverty, Protecting Community”
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Good Shepherd Baptist Church 1127 N. 28th Street, Richmond, VA 23223
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A Discussion on “Unpacking the 2010 Census” & the Upcoming Mayor’s Anti-Poverty Commission’s Report |
More info on the event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/285008308277367/?fref=ts
We will be cooking a spaghetti dinner for about 100 people. Folks who want to help us cater this event should meet at the Wingnut, 2005 Barton Avenue, at 2pm on Thursday Nov. 1st.
If anyone has garlic, onions, noodles, bread, oil, tomatoes, sauce, etc. to donate please let us know. You can call 804 300 0023 or drop the supplies off at the Wingnut.
What’s RePHRAME you say?
RePHRAME, Residents of Public Housing in Richmond Against Mass Evictions, is an alliance of public housing residents, advocates, and allies committed to housing justice for all in Richmond.
The RePHRAME Concerns & Demands:
1. There should be 1-for-1 replacement of any public housing units lost through public housing redevelopment. In other words, there should be no net lossof public housing units. In addition, location of newly created public housing units, and other aspects of the redevelopment process, should increase the employment, education, and other opportunities of public housing residents.
2. Current residents should have the right to return to newly developed public housing without any additional screening or requalification process. In the past, additional credit checks and other screenings (above and beyond those to which public housing residents are routinely subjected) have been used to effectively prevent previous residents from coming back to the newly developed housing. We believe redevelopment should not be used to get rid of residents who have done nothing to warrant eviction.
3. Public housing residents should have a meaningful voice in decisions regarding their housing and communities. Currently only 1 out of 7 RRHA commissioners is a public housing resident. RePHRAME proposes adding 2 additional seats to the RRHA Board of Commissioners which would be filled with RRHA residents.
4. RRHA currently requires that residents mail their rent payment to a SunTrust bank address in Baltimore, MD. Residents must often pay late fees through no fault of their own due to delays in the mail system or processing delays in Baltimore. In February, hundreds of residents paid late fees when a blizzard caused the mail system to shut down. According to RePHRAME’s research of dozens of housing authorities in Virginia and nationally, RRHA alone requires residents to mail rent out of state. RePHRAME surveyed hundreds of public housing residents in Richmond, and the overwhelming consensus is for a local rent payment option, at either the RRHA rent office in their neighborhood or at a local bank.
