Photos Courtesty of Michael Borkson,
http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/217178/index.php

by Steve

On Tuesday Jan 1st, a hundred or so people gathered in Harvard Square for a vigil to protest the Dec 16th rape in Delhi, and violence against women in general. It was a night of reflection with speakers, poetry, spoken word art, and a silent theatrical performance.

One of the most thought-provoking moments of the evening came from a pledge brought by Saheli Boston:

We condemn all violence against women. It must never be accepted, never excused, and never tolerated.

Women must be respected, valued and protected, and Saheli’s mission and vision is to end violence, empower women to lead safe and healthy lives. Please join us in this pledge:

• We will personally treat all women at home and elsewhere with respect and demand the same from others.
• We will not practice discrimination against women at home and in the workplace, and will fight it wherever we see it.
• We will intervene in whatever way we can when we see a woman being harassed whether verbally or by deeds.
• We will not support public officials who treat women with disrespect.
• We will work to end violence against women.

This pledge is worth taking. It shouldn’t take a tragic rape for people to treat women with dignity and respect.

by Barbara Magnuson

Vern and I did go into Boston (State House) and it was terrific. We estimate about 200 people showed up. Talked with MA State Representative from Worcester and West Boylston, James J. O’Day (I believe, the ONLY legislator present) who started his career as a Social Worker and knows intimately the effects of good and bad policies enacted at the state level – genuinely concerned about homeless families! Also spoke with a director of a homeless shelter and he says that the state has hired more people to staff the DHCD – making more levels of bureaucracy- and it’s harder for him to get services for his clinics, rather than more efficient. We found out from him that the housing built at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod to house victims of Hurricane Katrina is now empty and not being used!! There are solutions available, but the state is not paying attention to this dire circumstance for homeless families. We were very glad we went!!

Here’s some video footage, courtesy of Bil Lewis:

by Kate Layzer

The march was called to protest new restrictive eligibility requirements for family shelter. According to activists, nearly 70 percent of homeless families who apply for shelter are denied, and many are forced to stay in unsafe conditions. The plan was to deliver a symbolic 51-A form to DHCD—in other words, to report them for child abuse, for denying children emergency shelter. About 150 of us gathered at the State House at noon and marched the short distance to the Department of Housing and Community Development on Cambridge St. We had a police escort, as usual. The march was very peaceful. There were no incidents.