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by Aileen Montour
On June 10, 2003 over 1,200 enthusiastic and energized people representing 80 different congregations, community organizations and labor unions gathered at New Covenant Christian Church in Mattapan for a GBIO Organizational Action meeting with Gov. Mitt Romney. We listened to inspiring gospel music as we filed in and after an opening prayer and a review of the purpose of the night’s action, received an update on the Summer Jobs Campaign for Youth.
Individuals from GBIO (the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization) gave personal testimony on these areas of particular concern for our community: immigrant concerns, nursing home care, education/youth and affordable housing.
Governor Romney was introduced to the gathering and an impressive organizational roll call informed him of the depth and breadth of the membership present and represented on this evening. The governor listened to the GBIO concerns and then addressed the issues that had been raised.
The GBIO leadership asked for and received a commitment from the governor that they will have direct access to his office and that he continue to honor his pledge to support the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The leadership invited him to come back again in the fall for a rally twice the size of this one to give a progress report on his actions.
GBIO got the governor to come be present, listen to community concerns and become engaged. We will be watching and looking for accountability.
The good news is that as of this writing, there is a bond authorization of $70 million (over 5 years) for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund! While this amount is short of the $100 million we had hoped for, this is an important victory to celebrate. There are 1,300 units of affordable housing currently awaiting trust fund awards, so this money should be quickly and well spent. Given that much else was cut from this austerity budget, it is quite remarkable that the Trust Fund prevailed.
For those of you unfamiliar with GBIO, it is an expanding network of about 85 current community organizations and faith-based organizations connected by the commitment to 1) listen to the voices of the community and 2) organize people and money to address issues of concern to the community. Additionally there are 20 more pending affiliations, primarily in constituencies of color. GBIO is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation and the Massachusetts-based Organizing and Leadership Training Center.
Recent accomplishments of GBIO include:
- Raising over $6 million to establish the Nehemiah Homes Trust intended for building 1000 affordable homes (no interest loans for construction).
- Winning state funding to buy new textbooks for Boston public schools after a campaign of rallies and negotiations with the legislators.
- Leading a campaign and petition drive that resulted in the Housing Trust Fund.
- Strengthening person to person connections across lines of faith, ethnicity and socio-economic lines in the Boston area.
- Strengthening our civic institutions one organization at a time through 1:1 campaigns that rebuild community and create power in organized people.
GBIO is about acting on local issues in our community and about building our local community. It is about faith in action, diversity and democracy. The atmosphere is always exciting, uplifting, inclusive and empowering.
Plan to join us on Monday, September 15 for the next delegate assembly to continue developing plans for the areas of interest: immigrant concerns, nursing home care, education/youth opportunities and affordable housing. The next Organizational Action Rally will be held in the first week of December. Contact GBIO to participate in a Leadership Session @ GBIO@aol.com or 617-825-5600.