Kensington Welfare Rights Union

Update on Homes for the Holidays

From December 19th through the 21st, poor and homeless families belonging to the Kensington Welfare Rights Union held several actions as part of this year’s Homes for the Holidays Campaign. The Homes for the Holidays Campaign began before Thanksgiving with a turkey distribution in Kensington, and continued on December 1st with a protest of winter gas shut-offs at the Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW).

On December 19, KWRU members, members of the religious community and others stood outside the Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) at 12th and Market in the frigid cold to demand the right to affordable housing for homeless families in Philadelphia.

The following day, KWRU members passed out letters to members of City Council (link to letter), expressing concern over the lack of affordable housing and the growing number of families in our region without heat this winter, as reported in last week’s Philadelphia Inquirer. The visits to City Council and the Mayor’s office were a follow-up to the December 1st protest at PGW.

KWRU Director, Galen Tyler:
“This protest is to give a face to the number of poor and working poor that are here in Philadelphia. All we want is to ensure that everyone in Philadelphia, regardless of race, gender, religion, and so on has access to decent, safe, and affordable housing for their families. This doesn’t mean having a shelter that they can go to for a few hours during the night. No. This means going to a home that they can call their own.”

With very resources, the KWRU continues to struggle to meet the needs of poor and homeless families who come to us every day. At this holiday time, we are currently housing large numbers of families in our human rights houses, fighting for permanent housing and heat for a number of families, and struggling every day to provide the basic necessities of life to impoverished families who come to us with nothing.

Please help us to meet the needs of these families as we fight for the human rights to housing, food, heat, water and health care for all people in our rich country. KWRU is accepting donations of turkeys and other food items that will be redistributed to the local families in need.

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