WEAP Accomplishments

WEAP has a long history of both Leadership Development and Empowerment work with low-income women and their families throughout California as well as networking activities with women's organizations nationally and internationally.


Examples of a few of WEAP’s specific Accomplishments and Awards include:

Work in Progress- WEAP’s latest work has centered around periodic “Health Care is an Economic Human Right” Teach-In & Dialogues in order to provide the space for diverse members of the community to meet, discuss, and educate on poverty, economic security, and health justice issues.

2009 - WEAP Executive Director Ethel Long-Scott made several media appearances, raising the issue of our economic human rights on numerous occasions and through numerous outlets. These include radio interviews on Free Radio SC, WDXX's "Wake UP Clob," KPFA, Sirius Radio's "Make It Plain," KPFK;s "Beatiful Struggle" among others. The Black Commentator, the Twin Cities' Daily Planet, the Santa Cruz Sentinal and other periodicals have also included articles and commentary from WEAP. Along with nearly a dozen Teach-Ins, Leadership Trainings, and direct actions, WEAP has expanded its local presence.

November 2009 - WEAP participatd in Healthcare NOW!'s national strategy conference in St. Louis, MO. Activists from around the country joined together to plan a strategy to achieve a guranteed single-payer universal health care program. Executive Director, Ethel Long-Scott, was invited to speak to the assembly. Here you can find the written speech in its entirety.

July 2009 - WEAP attended and lead sessions at PPEHRC and Social Welfare Action Alliance's "Building the Unsettling Force: A National Conference to End Poverty" in Louisville, KY. The event launched several daysof education and strategy sessions, a solidarity march and rally, and a 'People's Fest.' We used this national conference to shine a spotlight on our country's shameful failure to take substantive actions to end poverty and constructively recognize and address economic human rights violations nationwide.

April 2009 - WEAP traveled to New York and joined with the Rochester arm of the Social Welfare Action Alliance (SWAA) in anti-poverty leadership development, education, and organizing work. This 'Mini-Tour' featured several WEAP "Health Care as a Human Right' trainings, two radio show appearances discussing the increasing poverty in our cities and our broken health care system, and two major speaking engagements at the Dugan Center of St. Mary's Church and at the University of New York.

March 2009 - Traveling to Rambouillet, France, Ethel Long-Scott joined roughly 40 partiicpants at the 2009 IRG/Ford Conference to discuss the increasing abuses of people's basic human rights around the world. The conference included a discusion of global organizing and the empowerment of the world's poorest and most marginalized people to speak for themselves.

February 2009 - Invited to participate in Oakland Mayor Dellum's Model City Summit on Women, WEAP Executive Ethel Long-Scott facilitated a workshop entitled "And Still I Rise: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty." Joining Ethel were Cherri Allison, Esq., Executive of the Family Violence Law Center, Nola Brantley, Executive Director of MISSEY (Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth), and Carolyn Thomas-Russel, Executive Director of 'A Safe Place'. The discussion surrounded Poverty Elimination versus Poverty Management and the work being done in Oakland to address the cycle of poverty.

2008- As part of the continued effort to break the media blackout on poverty issues in California, WEAP’s Executive Director Ethel Long-Scott appeared on the new issue-orientated GRITtv with host Laura Flanders to talk about the need to challenge and ultimately abolish poverty. You can watch the 15-minute segment here. Other media coverage has included New York’s radio WLIB 1190, the Bay Area’s KCRH 89.9, the Black Commentator, and the Oakland Tribune.

May 2008- WEAP successfully held its second national “Truth Commission & Public Hearing” in Oakland in order to speak out on our “human right to health care”, keynoted by local nurse family practitioner and health justice activist Nancy Lewis. This year’s event also included a mini teach-in on the health care crisis, the threat of individual mandates, and the single payer universal health care solution.

2008 - As part of the continued effort to break the media blackout on poverty issues in California, WEAP’s Executive Director Ethel Long-Scott appeared on the new issue-orientated GRITtv with host Laura Flanders to talk about the need to challenge and ultimately abolish poverty. You can watch the 15-minute segment here. Other media coverage has included New York’s radio WLIB 1190, the Bay Area’s KCRH 89.9, the Black Commentator, and the Oakland Tribune.

January 2008- WEAP accomplished one of its most critical media education projects with the launch of its new, interactive website. Designed as a community tool to break the silence and shame around poverty and to make important information and material on economic security issues accessible, we encourage and welcome all to use, engage with, learn from, and share it with others!

2007- WEAP is awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Metta Center for Nonviolence Education for their “dedication and mentorship as a valued community partner in the Metta Mentor Nonviolence Integration Program.”

March 2006- Held a “Citizen’s Hearing and Truth Commission on the Healthcare Crisis” in Oakland with Congresswoman Barbara Lee as the honorary chair, in order to “document the personal hardship and tragedy caused by the crisis in health care in our community.” Special space was reserved for women dealing with difficulties obtaining reproductive healthcare.

2006- WEAP broke the media blackout in California on the numerous citizen-run healthcare hearings.  Coverage included the San Francisco Bay View, Oakland Tribune, California Voice, Metro Reporter, KPOO, PCBS, and KTVU and was disseminated by CNA to their affiliates nationwide.

2004- WEAP's Social Justice work as a part of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign is spotlighted in the Ford Foundation's "Close to Home," a publication that presents 13 case studies of human rights work that is improving the lives of many in the United States.

A small sampling of the specific projects and outcomes that WEAP has completed throughout its many years include:

1. Trained more than a dozen women to effectively relate WEAP’s mission and vision of the Health Care is an Economic Human Right Campaign.  Several of these women conversed with reporters and were published.

2. Save the Soul of America- An eight day Freedom Bus Ride Tour and March throughout the East Bay, which united economically displaced California workers, including temporary workers, immigrants, the young, the poor, the homeless, and the cast aside and successfully highlighted and documented local economic human rights violations.

3. West Oakland - HOPE VI and Beyond - public housing residents outreach; organizing and training; job education and technical assistance training; and training for housing renovation.

4. Health Committee - Brought more than 30 low-income women together with Health Care providers in Oakland - in regular planning/sharing meetings over the period of the year.

5. Group of low-income women organized a statewide tour of speakers on issues of the poor, which was attended by several hundred people.

6. Held a series of meetings and trainings in housing projects to train women to speak, run meetings, and plan action programs.

7. Designed a state of the art Computer Training and Telecommunications Skills Center.

8. Renovated the Atrium’s second floor to provide a stunning architectural setting for classrooms and work areas equipped with the latest in high-speed computer wiring, World Wide Web access, and the ability for plug-in teleconferencing.

9. Carried out Life Skills Training at drug treatment programs, schools, colleges, Head Start, and housing projects under contract with the Oakland Unified School District. Low-income women leaders of WEAP conducted this training.

10. Provided outreach to more than 4,000 public housing residents.

11. Trained and guided low-income women to conduct specific campaigns for justice including court appearances, extensive media work, vigils, public education, running meetings, etc.

12. WEAP secured a contract with the City of Oakland's Office of Public Works to operate a Construction Trades Training Program.

13. WEAP successfully trained 115 women and men for pre-apprentice jobs working on the Cypress Mandela Freeway Construction Project.