“Health Care is an Economic Human Right” Teach-In & Dialogue


On May 19, 2009 WEAP’s Executive Director, Ethel Long-Scott, was invited to speak as the 10th Annual Spring Speaker during an event organized by The Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community (CJTC) at UC Santa Cruz. In a packed room of approximately 300 people, Long-Scott spoke passionately about health care and poverty issues, as her talk was themed “Health Care is a Human Right: Building a Movement to End Health Disparities and Poverty.”  Covering the broad, structural reasons for our country’s economic turmoil to begin, she also spoke about how single payer, universal health care could help millions, challenging the audience to participate in the creation of a broad movement for health care that is a human right . The following morning, several WEAP members met with two UCSC student groups, Chicanos in Health Education (CHE) and the Black Science Network (BSN) during a breakfast meeting sponsored by El Centro Resource Center.  The purpose of this meeting was to re-emphasize the importance of the human rights framework in the health care struggle and the use of educational tools when advocating for health justice. Read the full summary here.



On April 29th at Mills College in Oakland and again on April 30th at St. Mary's College in Moraga, WEAP put on two screening events for the documentary, The Water Front.  Earlier this year, WEAP joined the Water Rights campaign, which is lead by the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization. This campaign seeks to raise awareness about the increasing dangers of water privatization, domestically and internationally, and to stop local water shut-offs.  Both screenings of the film were largely lead and facilitated by WEAP student interns from Mills and St. Mary's College and were shown primarily to other students, family, and community members.  Both screenings also included a post-film discussion, in which audience members expressed their outrage about the very apparent human rights violations that take place in the film.  If you are interested in learning more about the fight to secure our human right to water or are interested in putting on your own screening, please click here or contact weap@weap.org.



From April 20-22, 2009 WEAP members 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. Both WEAP and SWAA are members of the umbrella organization, the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC). For three exciting days, WEAP educated and organized for "Health care as a Human Right" by teaching about Single Payer & Universal Health Care, sounding the alarm against unjust health care “Individual Mandates,” and highlighting the immediate need to end poverty and build a broad social movement to secure the health justice we need in the United States right now.  To spotlight the urgent need to end poverty, WEAP's Executive Director Ethel Long-Scott, appeared on two radio shows (WDKX radio and WXXI radio) and conducted two major speaking engagements (at the State University of New York and the Dugan Center of St. Mary’s Church).  Throughout, the people of Rochester responded positively to the vision that WEAP presented, articulating their great need and desire for change.  Read the full summary here.



In the last week of March 2009, WEAP's Executive Director, Ethel Long-Scott, traveled to  Rambouillet, France to join organizers working in some of the world’s most voiceless and invisible populations in order to discuss how to strengthen the voices of billions of marginalized people. Among the concerns of the nearly 40 participants was that bad times in the world economy could literally squeeze the life out of many of the people they have been working to support.  As organizers, they represented dozens of countries from every major continent.  Most came from grassroots “self-help” networks that are little known to most people. The topics ranged from how water privatization is denying people access to clean water to the brutal affects of the criminalization of HIV.  In other words, they discussed the increasing abuses of people's basic human rights, discussing whether organizing globally would make them stronger.  The primary issues covered at the conference were how to get more of the world’s poorest and most marginalized people to speak up for themselves, instead of having others speak for them, and how to get more effective international support for the changes they need to improve their lives.  Read the full summary here.


"Health Care is a Human Right" Training

On February 20th, 2009, WEAP, along with the assistance of community members from CHAM, STRONG, and CNA, conducted a four hour and a half “Health Care is a Human Right” orientation training with a Sociology & Women’s Studies class led by Professor Ganote at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California. WEAP has worked with St. Mary’s College since 2002, believing the partnership to be an excellent opportunity to not only bring academia and the broader community together, but to push students to think about issues such as health care through a human rights and social movements framework. Throughout the training, the students were engaged, eager to learn, and demonstrated a keen insight into the current health care crisis and possible solutions to the problems plaguing our for-profit health care system. Like in the past, WEAP looks forward to working with these students on several community-based projects over the course of the spring semester.



WEAP’s Executive Director, Ethel Long-Scott, was invited to participate and facilitate a workshop discussion during Mayor Dellums’ Model City Summit on Women held February 17, 2009 at the Oakland Marriot Convention Center. The widely attended workshop was entitled “And Still I Rise: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty.” Joining Ethel for this discussion were: Cherri Allison, Esq. - Executive Director of  the Family Violence Law Center, Nola Brantley- Executive Director of MISSEY (Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth), and Carolyn Thomas-Russell- Executive Director of A Safe Place. These phenomenal and moving women shared their perspectives on Poverty Elimination versus Poverty Management, the horrific realities and statistics of Domestic Violence, and the work being done in Oakland to address youth and adults typically labeled as “throw away people.” WEAP posed several questions around how we can begin to break the cycle of poverty because living free of poverty is our HUMAN RIGHT! Several panelists and participants expressed how interconnected domestic violence, poverty, and abuse are and that we must start exploring ways to prioritize prevention rather than simply intervention and ensure everyone has access to healthy food, adequate housing, a clean environment, control over her/his own life, and be able to fully participate in decisions about her/his community.

60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights
On December 10th, 2008, WEAP attended a commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the creation of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights put on by Oakland’s St. Mary’s Center.  Across the world, millions celebrated in the name of “Dignity and Justice for All of Us” and the recognition of basic human rights inherent to all people.  At St. Mary’s Senior Center, and affiliate of the California Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, the celebrations focused on a remembrance for the homeless who died in 2008.  Seniors took turns speaking about their friends and the disappeared of America through songs, poems, and eulogies.  The seniors also spoke on the need for universal health care and affordable food and housing for everyone.  The day concluded by celebrating the publication and release of the Oakland Institute and St. Mary’s Center’s collaboration on Going Gray in the Golden State, which documents the root causes of poverty among Oakland’s seniors in a city with the largest population of impoverished seniors.


2008 Healthcare-NOW! Strategy Conference
ONE PLAN, ONE NATION! - A rallying call and demand for a bailout for America's workers, families, and poor. At Healthcare-NOW’s two-day 2008 annual strategy session in Chicago, WEAP provided leadership in the discussion around the direction of the Single Payer, Universal Health Care movement for the upcoming year.  The meeting brought together dozens of organizations and labor unions from around the country, including NNOC, CNA, PNHP, IBEW, PDA, AFL-CIO, UE, and the UAW just to name a few.  Congressman John Conyers, who sponsors the current federal legislation for Single Payer (H.R. 676), was a constant presence, speaking and answering questions both days of the conference. WEAP, joined by ally STRONG, presented on how the Human Rights Framing can be a valuable strategy in this movement and the importance of Truth Commissions/Hearings going forward in our fight to secure health care for all. We also played a primary role in stressing the importance of linking health reform with poverty elimination in the budding single payer movement.  WEAP was clear that we must continue to mobilize for health care that is comprehensive and inclusive to everyone, otherwise we will miss a great opportunity to really fight for change that secures our rights and raises the well being of America's people.  To read more about the conference, check out Healthcare-Now’s summary.



On October 25th, 2008 WEAP joined dozens of other social justice organizations at the Community Homeless Alliance Ministry (CHAM)’s “Reclaiming the Right to Housing” event.  Over four hours of presentations and small group discussion sessions were held, giving everyone the opportunity to elevate the discussion around the plague that is consuming individuals from all walks of life. The fact that Housing as a Human Right has been denied to millions of people in the United States was elaborated on by presenters and facilitators from CHAM, WEAP, MAIZ, the Western Regional Advocacy Project, Youth United for Community Action, Affordable Housing Network, Low Income Self-Help Network, and many others. Several courageous individuals donated their time in order to testify and share their knowledge about the obstacles prohibiting people from living a healthy lifestyle, such as predatory equity, immigration status, health care bills, poverty, and the decreasing availability of employment in the job market.  Thus, the event significantly connected the lack of affordable and quality housing to other economic human rights violations: the lack of food, health care, education, and living wage jobs.  While several short term and long term solutions were discussed, the primary demands made during the event were ending the privatization of housing and holding the government responsible for supplying the means and resources necessary for all to enjoy healthy and productive lives.  


The International "Eradication of Poverty" Day

For over two decades now, October 17th has been set aside as an observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  In Oakland, St. Mary’s Center held its third annual community gathering in order to educate about this critical subject and honor the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger.  A special focus was put on children this year while the overall message boldly affirmed that poverty is a violation of human rights.  WEAP, who has partnered together with St. Mary’s for almost three decades, took part in the planning and education of the event, which garnered the sponsorship of a wide array of community organizations including the Alameda County Food Bank, AmeriCorps, Health Access, and the Children’s Defense Fund.  WEAP also actively participated in the event by providing several testimonies on the subjects of poverty, health care, and family support.  WEAP Executive Director, Ethel-Long Scott, was bestowed the honor of giving a speech on the history of the CA Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, emphasizing the role it has played in breaking the silence around poverty and building a broad social movement to ensure that our basic economic human rights are respected.