EPIC - A Look Back and A Look Forward

Here is a rough draft of some writing I found from January 2014, after receiving the Woman of the Year Award for my work with The Local's social justice club EPIC - Empowering People in Communities. I wanted to share because I think it's still relevant and interesting, though not a polished or measured piece of work by any means.

Resistance
 

2013 Woman of the Year Award Winners, Stratford, ON

 "The snow is starting to fall, the Local's one year anniversary approaches, and I take stock in the afterglow of an award for social justice. My Dad's birthday just passed. He encouraged me to do something I love and I can truly say I am. Some compassionate, ambitious, and hard-working people have helped me carve out this life path and to build the proverbial platform I'm standing on as I write this, I stood on to accepted my award, I'll hold up to honour others in the future.

I'm occasionally asked by people how I can do the work I do - front-line work. If I'm not asked outright, I hear it as gentle undertones, subtle cadences, split-second hesitations, and reflexive inflections. There are a lot of proposals. We need to teach the people: train them for jobs, advise them on how to manage money, teach them to live on powdered milk - with no teeth and diabetes, squeeze them into cracks where they can live without the things that make life worth living. More proposals. We need to educate the government: give them facts about the housing shortage, the cost of treating lifelong and preventable diseases once it's already too late, counting the number of children in poverty without situating them in families and communities. At the root of all things is power not facts and governments exist only to be re-elected.

Everything we have built, this complex network of mechanisms in place to maintain the status quo, is rigid. The cogs are simply there to turn, not to bend, to change form or function. Real change comes with some effort, we have to dismantle and rebuild entire parts of this old, tired, and dirty machine. It only looks good from the top, the crows nest from which they take the travel-brochure photos. The story is told from the perspective of those who stand to lose should someone pitch a strategically aimed monkey wrench.

If this isn't working, then suggest an alternative. Raising the minimum wage will cause inflation. Giving social assistance recipients more money will cause more irresponsible spending. Giving people the power to make their own choices will take away power from me. The problems are too big, my idea of how the world functions to wrapped up in my identity, why don't you be quiet and stop questioning the way we do things, the way we treat people, the way we believe ourselves when we say this is as good as it gets?

Every time you drop a can into the food donation bin, you're saying things aren't right. Every time you drop your offering in the plate, you're voting for a fairer, more just society. Every time you go to the polls, support a local business, walk instead of drive, carry a reusable bag to the grocery store, give a friend's kid a lift home from school, plant a garden, or smile at a stranger, I see you trying to make things good."

I didn't even finish writing it but to sum up I would say -- think bigger, work harder, change is possible. Right now EPIC is working on a housing initiative called Campaign 226. We chose the number 226 because that was the number of families on the waiting list for social housing as of December 2013. It helps us quantify the problem, though only a fraction of those experiencing housing trouble are on the list, and it will also serve as a benchmark for any potential progress.

The goal of Campaign 226 is this: To create safe, affordable, and dignified housing opportunities for all community members in Perth County. On Tuesday as part of our EPIC Tuesday Program, we hit the streets to distribute information and buttons. Between our street campaign and the community meal the night before, we went through 100 buttons. I was inspired to see people transform from too nervous to talk to anyone to proudly approaching anyone to tell them about our Campaign. The following day I received an email that included this:

"Thank you for yesterday. I actually ended up enjoying myself and today I can't believe I actually did it. Thank you for making me feel not only welcomed but feel like I belong in EPIC. It is one more step towards my path to what I want to do with my life. Each one of you are awesome."

We did feel awesome. It feels awesome to be part of a group and to stand up for something you believe in. Everyone I spoke to agreed that there is a need for more social housing and it was great to feel that support from people on the street. I also met people who were experiencing housing issues themselves, listened to their situations, and encouraged them to become involved. I'm excited to see where this can take us. The Local is a powerful place and I'm grateful to be a part of it.

 

EPIC Members warming up after some street campaigning.