Post Meeting August Update

Whew!  We had a whirlwind meeting under the Pavilion at Cherrywood on Tuesday night, and thanks to our facilitator, Dawn Laguerre, we finished just before the rain arrived.  (If you missed it, this is the survey you should take asap, and then read the info below.)  Here's what we covered at our August meeting:

Quick reports & Announcements

• We celebrated personal and political good news, from new grandbabies and post-pandemic family visits to the announcement of a new non-sexual-harassing woman governor! for New York!

• Dianne Berry & Carole Gehrig shared updates on Karen Stanislaus's exciting campaign for Oneida County Family Court Judge. She needs contributions. Here is where you can make your donation to her campaign (judge candidates can't ask for money directly, but she needs about $30,000 for ads so people know she is a serious and qualified candidate and recognize her name on the ballot). You can also sign up to help knock doors for her. We have a chance to elect an experienced and very well qualified Black woman Democrat for the job. Let's make sure we give her 110% of our effort.

• Caroline Reale (Oneida County Bd of Leg (NH) was at the meeting, and asked for volunteers for her big campaigning day on October 9th (Boilermaker weekend).

• Celeste Friend (Utica Common Council -3rd ward) continues to do Tuesday evening with her canvassing volunteers followed by dinner at her house. Her big ask is for volunteers on Saturday, Oct. 16, 10 am -1 pm for lit drops (no door knocking) followed by lunch at her house in south Utica.

• Maggie Reilly gave an update on the Climate Crisis Workgroup. The Climate Crisis Working Group is having a Climate Jobs & Justice Rally on Friday, August 27th from 4-5 pm at the intersection of the Parkway and Genesee Street (MVCC side) to bring attention to the urgency of Climate Change on a national, state and local level. This is very timely with the IPCC report calling for deep reductions in CO2 levels and greenhouse gas emissions. So please bring signs such as Electric Vehicles, Renewables, Solar Panels, Heat Pumps, New Electric Grid and join together with friends.

• The next meeting for the Climate Crisis Working Group is September 27th at 6:30 pm via zoom. We will be talking about how we will be educating others on how to reduce emissions but also how we are going to move our national and state officials on Climate Change policy and laws, especially the CCIA in NY State with our new governor.

Main Topics

• Buffy Curtis gave an account of her trip to Minnesota to stand as an ally with hundreds of indigenous and environmental activists in the fight to StopLine3, a toxic, dangerous, and destructive pipeline for tar sands oil that President Biden is allowing to be built to bring crude oil from Canada through waterways and indigenous lands in the US. She urged us all to contact the White House immediately.

• ACTION ITEM: Email President Biden today with a simple message: "Stop Line 3!" or call him at 202-456-1111. More contact information at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/. The group decided to also ask Indivisible NYS and Indivisible National to write letters or include this issue in letters to Pres. Biden.

• Bill Thickstun provided an overview of what re-districting looks like in Oneida County. It was bad for Dems ten years ago, and if it can get worse, it will, since Republicans control the county leg. For the state, we know that we are losing an upstate district, but no one knows how the lines around us will be redrawn. There will also be some shifting in state leg districts, also undetermined. At least the state leg and congressional redistricting will not hurt Dems over all. Most of our Democratic leaders in NY favor an end to political gerrymandering, but we can't stop doing it unilaterally, while the Republicans everywhere are committed to using it ruthlessly as a political tool.

• Sarah Reeske gave an update on S1 For the People Act. Sen. Schumer has promised to make this his focus in September after recess, and he has an audience of two: Manchin and Sinema. He will need to carve democracy out of the filibuster, and he will be accountable for getting it done, or likely face a primary challenge in New York. Democracy hangs on what Schumer does in the next six weeks so that means NY Indivisibles need to keep the pressure on him.

How We Will Support Campaigns This Fall

IMV is taking a new approach with local campaigns this fall.   We have a lot of wonderful candidates who need our help and support, and at the same time, we have not been able to work on campaigns together in person since before Covid times.  So....we have decided to create a regular schedule --perhaps two days per week, when IMVers will meet up and volunteer together for a campaign.  

We'll begin this schedule after Labor Day.  The Steering Committee will be in contact with campaigns so they can request specific dates, provide walking lists and palm cards, and so on needed for canvassing or lit drops.   The candidates make their own strategy--we are offering People Power.   We'll use a similar method for doing postcards and any phone-banking for campaigns.  As Jennifer Geiger noted, this is a great way for us to see each other and connect in person again.  There are roles for everyone--including those who prefer driving to walking, and those who like to carry the materials or make the notes in Minivan rather than talking at the door. 

What we need every IMVer to do, if you have not done so already, is fill out this survey.  Our goal is to pick two weekly times (perhaps a weekday and a weekend) that will allow everyone to participate and make sure we elect some progressive candidates this year.  Thank you for filling out the survey!
 

REI: Homelessness & Allyship with The Morrow Center

Jill Farnham-Us led our Race, Equity, and Inclusion section on Tuesday.  She talked about homelessness. In Oneida County, there is a low-barrier overnight shelter (The Morrow Center) at Oneida Square, Utica, that opened in December, meeting a significant need in the community.  But there is no place for the population to go during the day to connect safely with services and use the facilities (where do you go to the restroom during the day if you're homeless and no one lets you in?)    In Herkimer County there is a day shelter, but no overnight shelter so people sleep under a bridge. Both of these facts are human catastrophes occurring on our watch.  

The Morrow Warming Center (in Plymouth-Bethesda/Cornerstone Church basement) has been the target of significant harassment from some local businesses, institutions, and other neighbors in Utica.  Some of the harassment (including the Munson Williams Proctor Institute hiring of a Syracuse attorney to sign up neighbors to try to close the shelter) has gotten out of hand.  Homeless people are now vulnerable to attacks on the street.  The Pastor of Cornerstone Church had all four of his tires slashed.  Perhaps most disturbingly, there is a sustained campaign to de-humanize those living without homes or in extreme poverty, often suffering from mental illness, trauma, or addiction by using language designed to create feelings of disgust and convince us that homeless people are dangerous or destructive of our community. The result is that those of us who do have homes and health care and money and supportive family begin to feel that the homeless are almost a different species than ourselves, less than human.  But they ARE HUMAN BEINGS.  And, generally, homeless people are more often the victims of violence than the perpetrators.  

Mostly what we need to do is stop trying to hide the homeless as if they didn't exist, and instead, end homelessness, by providing Housing First, so that people can have a safe place of their own to live and can then start working on getting help for mental illness, addiction, unemployment, and other personal challenges.  

What can we do?  

1) Join the Morrow Warming Center Facebook group and provide support in the form of needed donations, and/or cooking or delivering meals.  (Look under the Files tab for the list of needed items!) 
2) If you are a MWPAI member, contact the Institute and let them know that you support the low barrier shelter and would like to see MWPAI staff, members, and students get involved volunteering at the Center, whether making meals or on social justice art projects or partnering to support development of a day shelter at Oneida Square.  
3) Write a Letter to the Editor urging our counties and cities to create a day shelter to supplement current homeless services.  And most of all, to embrace Housing First approaches that house people in safe apartments before requiring them to solve all their life problems first.  
3) Attend a community & prayer event this Saturday with Rev. Jill Farnham-Us. Be part of building community and making connections, spreading compassion and empathy.  Saturday, Aug. 21 10 am at Kemble Park.  
 

IMV Sign-Ons this week

This past week, IMV signed on to two statewide letters.

1) To Sen. Gillibrand from NY State Indivisible, asking her take a leadership role on For the People Act, and requesting some meetings with her during the recess. 

2) To incoming Governor, Kathy Hochul, to demand a #NYBold Agenda to combat sexual harassment/violence and gender inequity in New York State. 

IMV's relationships with other progressive groups and coalitions across the state allow us to be involved in and support these important initiatives that align with her our values and priorities.  
Petitioning is the first direct voter contact made by volunteers in this election. Not only are we modeling that democracy is not a spectator sport, but we are showing people at the doors that we are making activism bite size, local, and fun. Remember there are multiple ways to support petitioning including being a driver or ride-along-buddy. Make sure we know how you want to help!

Take Action This Week (Summing Up) 

1) Call or email President Biden with the message Stop Line 3.
2) Call Sen. Schumer and Gillibrand and tell them to end the filibuster to pass S1, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and DC Statehood.
3) Take the IMV Survey about volunteering for local campaigns.
4) Make donations to local candidates. Early Money Is Like Yeast (remember Emily's list?)
5) Take actions (above) to support The Morrow Center and challenge the de-humanization of homeless people.

Thanks for all you do as an IMV activist. Let's continue to make politics local, bite-sized, and fun. Democracy is not a spectator sport!


Follow us on Twitter using@indivisiblemvand of course ourFacebook pageandIMV Activism Group. We're also at indivisiblemv.org