Philadelphia, USA. March to claim the right to housing

Intitulé de l'initiative:

Position sur la carte:

Pays:

United States

Rédacteur:

Nicola Sossass

Langue:

Inglese

Date de l'initiative:

05/10/2009

Organisateurs:

Kensington Welfare Rights Union

Contenu:

In the city called “the birthplace of the nation” thousand are homeless or living in overpriced, marginal housing. A hundred miles west, elderly residents of a trailer park face forced eviction. The Kensington Welfare Rights Union has begun its actions to save their homes.

Décisions:

Deindustrialized in the 1970s and 1980s, the once thriving Philadelphia community of Kensington had become the poorest neighborhood in Philadelphia and among the poorest in the nation. Residents lived in crumbling housing—usually all they could afford in this historic city--surrounded by abandoned factories and businesses. The Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) was organized by five “welfare mothers” in Philadelphia in the early 1990’s and, in 1998, formed the national PPEHRC and a statewide organization, Pennsylvania PPEHRC. Internationally known for its housing takeovers and marches to claim the right to housing, KWRU will be marching once again in October to claim that right.

The center of gravity for the struggle at this time is a trailer park in York, Pennsylvania, 100 miles west of Philadelphia, where 100 residents of a trailer park are being evicted to make room for city-backed “development.” The trailers, mostly occupied for many years by elderly residents, were built in the 1960s and are too fragile to be moved. With no place to go, the residents face eviction and no options. The fight to save these homes will be the focus of actions taken during October’s observance of the Zero Evictions campaign.

Thématiques:

Campagna Sfratti Zero

Nicola Sossass