The City and County both passed resolutions declaring Housing Is A Human Right . . . and now we are holding a Summit, tomorrow, to talk about what to do about it! Copies are made, rooms reserved, packets being stuffed, panelists readying themselves . . . now all we need is you!
A community summit to build the housing justice movement in Dane County
SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2013 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH AND BETHEL LUTHERAN CHURCH MADISON, WI
ENDORSERS: Dane County Homeless Issues Committee*Affordable Housing Action Alliance*Progressive Dane* National Lawyers Guild-Madison *Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin* Madison-area Urban Ministry* First Unitarian Society* United Legal Workers, NOLSW, UAW 2320* Freedom, Inc. *Operation Welcome Home * Take Back the Land-Madison*Tenant Resource Center, Inc. *Occupy Madison*Autonomous Solidarity Organization*South-Central Federation of Labor* Laborers International Union North America, Local 236*United Way of Dane County*Community Action Coalition of South Central Wisconsin * Make Room for Youth
Both the City of Madison and Dane County recently passed resolutions recognizing housing as a human right, but the challenges to realizing that right for Dane County residents are significant. There are about 36,000 Dane County residents renting units they cannot afford, over 1000 homeless kids in Madison schools, and hundreds of homeless living unsheltered on the streets. Policy makers are concerned with the situation, but are intimidated by the magnitude of the problem and the challenges of austere state and federal budgets and Act 10 revenue limits. They need assistance, pressure, and support to effectively implement housing solutions.
These local resolutions, combined with dedicated grass roots organizing, civil disobedience by housing activists, and the creation of a new City-County Homeless Issues Committee and a temporary homeless day shelter, have drawn media attention to the serious housing crisis in our midst and engaged the conscience of our community. Without housing, it is nearly impossible to keep your family together, maintain physical or mental well-being, achieve in school, obtain or retain employment, and fully realize your potential in your community. Homeless and near homeless persons, policy-makers, providers, funders, activists, and community members must prioritize the right to housing and creatively collaborate to implement the right to housing for Dane County residents. We invite you to this summit to join in that effort. Register the day of the event and sign up on Facebook- Housing is a Human Right Summit. It is free and open to the public!
I. Opening Plenary – Welcome to the Right to Housing Movement (9 a.m. – 10:35 a.m.)
First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI
a. Welcome Karen Andro, Director of Outreach Ministries, First United Methodist Church (9-9:05 a.m.)
b. Introduction to Local Resolutions Recognizing Housing as a Human Right
Heidi M. Wegleitner, Dane County Supervisor, Vice-Chair, County Homeless Issues Committee, and housing law attorney (9:05 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.)
c. Vignettes by Local Housing and Homeless Activists- Operation Welcome Home, Feeding the
State Street Family, Autonomous Solidarity Organization, Occupy Madison, Dane County Homeless Issues Committee, Wisconsin Alliance for Tenants’ Rights, OutReach (9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.)
d. Background on the Affordable Housing and Homelessness Crisis in Dane County
Brenda Konkel, Executive Director, Tenant Resource Center and former City of Madison Alder
(10:15 a.m. -10:35 a.m.)
II. Shortcomings of Streets and Shelter – Unhoused Living (10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)
First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI
a. Panel discussion on the gaps in the emergency shelter system, the challenges of both staying in and operating an emergency shelter with significant funding and space limitations, and trying to meet the needs of the sheltered and unsheltered. Panelists include: Leigha Weber, The Salvation Army; Brad Hinkfuss, Porchlight, Inc.; Robin Lickel, expert on trauma-informed care; Tyler Schueffner- Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin; Ulysses Williams and Ronnie Barbett, Dane County Homeless Issues Committee; and Christi Chernecki (invited). Moderated by Jack Longert, attorney and former homeless services manager. (10:45 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.)
b. Break-out Discussions Unaccompanied Homeless Youth –State Rep. Melissa Sargent and Make Room for Youth; Medical Shelter – Linda Ketcham, Madison-Area Urban Ministry; Trauma-Informed Care- Robin Lickel; Creating Supportive Space with Day Resource Programs- Mark Wilson, Bethel Lutheran, Nate Abrams, Ronnie Barbett, and Z! Haukeness, Temporary Day Warming Shelter; Stone Soup, Santas Without Chimneys and Overflow Shelter – Carrie Riddle, Sasha Troha, ASO; Effects of Shelter on Pregnant Women and Young Children – Jeanne Erickson, Project Babies; Feeding the State Street Family; Needs of LGBTQ Homeless Populations- Donald Haar, Angie Rehling, OutReach; and Homeless Bill of Rights- Dave Peters. (11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)
III. LUNCH by STONE SOUP FUMC, 203 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI (12:15 p.m.- 12:50 p.m.)
IV. Afternoon Welcome Pastor Alison Williams, Outreach and Service, Bethel Lutheran (12:55 – 1 p.m.)
V. Affordable Housing – The Permanent Solutions (1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.)
Bethel Lutheran Church, 312 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI
a. Panel discussion of the different types of affordable housing and the various considerations and challenges in planning for affordable housing, funding it, siting it, operating it, and (from an applicant/tenant/advocate standpoint) getting approved for affordable housing and maintaining it. Panelists include Rob Dicke, Dane County Housing Authority;, Dana Pellebon, Porchlight, Inc.; Kristin Rucinski, The Road Home;, Michael Carlson, Madison Community Cooperative;, and Chris Laurent, affordable housing development expert. Moderated by Brenda Konkel. (1 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.)
b. Break-out Discussions Housing First Model, Permanent Supportive Housing, SROs, Cooperative Housing, Challenging Subsidized Housing Denials and Terminations (1:55 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.)
VI. Plenary – Connecting the Housing Struggle to the Broader Movement for Economic
Justice, Restoring our Democracy, and Building a Sustainable Future (2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
Bethel Lutheran Church, 312 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI
Panel discussion on breaking down barriers, building coalitions, and strengthening the housing justice
movement by connecting with other community struggles. Panelists include Bill Fetty, Autonomous
Solidarity Organization, M Adams, Freedom, Inc., Tamara Sutor, Middleton Cross Plains Area School
District Social Worker, and Kim Neuschel, BSN, RN, Public Health Madison and Dane County.
Moderated by Anthony Prince, Chair, National Lawyers Guild-Madison and Labor Attorney.
VII. Closing Reading by Wendi Kent (4-4:10 p.m.)
Join us for a screening of Street Pulse after the summit at 5:15
Room 200, 122 State St.
Popcorn and Coffee provided by ASO (Autonomous Solidarity Organization)
Description from the Wisconsin Film Festival – Matthew Connolly
Street Pulse refracts the experiences of Madison’s homeless population through the unconventional romance of two people living on the street. Diagnosed as bi-polar, twenty two-year-old Angel was kicked out of her family’s home for binge drinking. 51-year-old Robert struggles with his own demons after serving a twenty-six year prison stint. Defying differences in age and experience, they fell in love and work to build their life together. Named for the news publication produced and distributed entirely by Madison’s homeless, Street Pulse deftly captures the daily cadences and rhythms of life on the street. Director Marc Kornblatt films the streets themselves, as well as Madison’s buildings, bridges, and highways, with an elegant compositional eye. He sketches a mosaic of experience throughout the film, interviewing a range of homeless individuals and those assisting them in their search for employment and shelter. Angel and Robert, however, form the film’s heart. Whether handing out newspapers on State Street or exploring their unstable pasts and unlikely relationship in interviews, their relationship proves all the more unforgettable for Kornblatt’s unsentimental respect for its complexity, its struggles, and, ultimately, its strength.
directed by: Marc Kornblatt
cinematography: Randy Lee
producer: Marc Kornblatt
music: Fred Fischer and Art Paul Schlosser
editor: Randy Lee
