Main Street

Word on the Street: Communities

Kimberly McMurray–Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In a world where no one joins bowling leagues, where few sewing circles exist anymore, I have written a lot about Working America building communities in neighborhoods. There was the general contractor who hired his struggling neighbor, or the stranger in New York who offered to pay for a young boy’s math tutor. There are the thousands of face to face conversations Working America organizers have with people every night at the door. Bear with me, but I have one more story along that vein. Actually, I have a million stories, but this one happened today.

Last week, ten Working America members met at Angela’s house to discuss the current unemployment crisis and the upcoming elections. Over coffee and muffins, they talked about struggling to make mortgage payments, worrying about buying groceries, and epic battles over life-saving unemployment benefits. They came together from all different situations, but they were all united in struggling with unemployment. They had all been hit by the economic crisis and they were all worried about the future.

But one woman stood out. Liz lost her job a year ago and since then she has been struggling with homelessness. Through the winter, she lived out of her car or, if she was able to scrape the money together, a motel room for a night at a time. Since then, she moved into an apartment and worked on piecing her life together. As of our meeting, she was living without electricity or hot water. Her 16 year old son was sleeping on the floor and she wrapped her own mattress in saran wrap to fight the bed bugs. When she spoke, another member reached out to hold her hand.

A few days later, I met with Angela to discuss today’s event. “I just got off the phone with Liz,” Angela said to me as I walked in her door. She ushered me to the kitchen table and poured me a glass of iced tea. “There must be something we can do for her. I know no one in our group has a lot of money, but maybe if we pool something together…” Angela was in problem solving mode. Although she had been struggling with unemployment for two years, she felt like she could help Liz. Through Working America, she could make one more life better.

Today, our group met again. We talked about the economy, unemployment, and we wrote even more postcards to other unemployed members urging them to vote in their economic favor this election season. And afterwards, Angela presented Liz with some basic necessities that she had collected: towels, dishes, a Halloween decoration for her door.

There it is, another story of community. There was the general contractor who hired his struggling neighbor, or the stranger in New York who offered to pay for a young boy’s math tutor, and now there is the member who bought kitchen supplies for another member to help her get back on her feet.