Action of Greater Lansing
Tonight I took part in the 2008 Nehemiah Action Assembly at the Union Missionary Baptist Church in downtown Lansing. Action of Greater Lansing is a non-profit org made up of 13 church congregations in the Lansing area - including my church, Eastminster, and Daisy's church, First Presbyterian - and several other denominations. Action works with government officials and others to address issues of justice in the greater Lansing area.
The focus of tonight's assembly was access to safe rental housing in Lansing. We heard from one man and his family who were evicted from their rental property when their landlord declared bankruptcy. [The happy ending to his story is that he will soon be the recipient of a Habitat house (one that my church has been working on - my friend Cindy who is on the Habitat board will be happy to hear this!).]
But others haven't been so lucky so the purpose of tonight's meeting was to ask Mayor Bernero for two action items to prevent red-tagging evictions. The Mayor was running late b/c of a city council meeting, but he showed up at the 11th hour and agreed wholeheartedly to both requests - much cheering from the crowd. :)
It was pretty exciting to be part of it - especially since it looks like there could be some positive outcomes for housing options for people in Lansing. There were 200-300 people there. It was heartwarming to see that many activists for justice -- gave me some hope!
The focus of tonight's assembly was access to safe rental housing in Lansing. We heard from one man and his family who were evicted from their rental property when their landlord declared bankruptcy. [The happy ending to his story is that he will soon be the recipient of a Habitat house (one that my church has been working on - my friend Cindy who is on the Habitat board will be happy to hear this!).]
But others haven't been so lucky so the purpose of tonight's meeting was to ask Mayor Bernero for two action items to prevent red-tagging evictions. The Mayor was running late b/c of a city council meeting, but he showed up at the 11th hour and agreed wholeheartedly to both requests - much cheering from the crowd. :)
It was pretty exciting to be part of it - especially since it looks like there could be some positive outcomes for housing options for people in Lansing. There were 200-300 people there. It was heartwarming to see that many activists for justice -- gave me some hope!
posted by Ruth at
9:26 PM
1 Comments:
I am glad you are becoming active in reducing substandard housing in the Lansing area. One of the current functions of the Habitat board is to approve the families that are recommended as partners in building their homes. The conditions that some of the families live under is deplorable and it is rewarding to be part of the solution. I saw the report and film on the news about the rally.
By
Cyndee, at 1:52 PM
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