We are proud to say that GSOP is the largest grassroots community organization in New Hampshire. We are comprised of 32 religious, community, and labor organizations representing 20,000 New Hampshire families. 
  

We work on issues such as affordable housing, jobs, health care, and education to improve the lives of all people.

 

GRANITE STATE

ORGANIZING PROJECT

DELEGATES ASSEMBLY

& DINNER

 

June 6, 2009, at 5 p.m.

St. Anthony School Cafeteria

148 Belmont St., Manchester

 

Everyone had so much fun last year; we decided to do it again!

 

Cost is $20 per person or $30 a couple, and tables of eight are $150.  Enjoy great food and the music of Jerry Jean and His Pickin’ Buddies and hear more about GSOP’s work

for social justice in New Hampshire.

 

EVERYBODY’S WELCOME!

Call GSOP at 603-668-8250 to reserve your place!

 

 * * * * * * *

 

HB 574:  An Update

House Bill 574, which calls for changes in state policies regarding housing code enforcement and tighter regulations on out-of-state landlords, is working its way through the New Hampshire legislature.  The bill has been approved by the House but is still under consideration by the Senate.   Members of all GSOP chapters have made appearances before legislative committees, testifying in favor of the bill.   Especially helpful was the appearance of Max Sink of the Manchester Department of Housing and Leon Goodwin, the assistant city attorney for the city of Keene.

 

Manchester Chapter

 

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

The Manchester Chapter is bringing everyone to the table to address serious problems in one of Manchester’s apartment buildings, the Langdon Mill, on West Brook Street.   The 20-unit building houses a veritable United Nations, including people from Somalia, Sudan, Bosnia and native Granite Staters.

The main issue is severe insect infestation.  The building is infested with bed bugs. The tenants, the landlord, and the Manchester Building and Health Departments have all tried to correct this problem.  However, they cannot solve it alone.

 

GSOP, partnering with member group American Friends Service Committee, is working to solve the problem by getting everyone to work together. The issues are many.  Some tenants from were placed in the building with second hand furniture that was already infested, other brought in old mattresses that were left out for disposal but never collected, some tenants were placed in the building  without adequate  social or material supports, some tenants are unable to afford the vacuum cleaners needed to protect against bed bugs.  What we see in Manchester is just part of a national problem that has even affected five star hotels in cities across the country.

 

The first step in this community partnership process is the creation of a team of churches, agencies, city departments, and the building owner and tenants to collaborate on solving the problems.  A tenant group is being organized to ensure the needs of the tenants are respected throughout the process.  The tenants will be temporarily relocated while all infested items are disposed of, repairs are made to the building, and the building is sprayed for pests. New furnishings must be obtained, and the tenants will be moved back in and taught how to prevent future infestations. An ongoing system of careful oversight by the landlord, the city, and the tenant leadership group must be established.  

 

GSOP hopes to complete this process over the summer, finishing the relocation in time for the children to return to school in the fall.

This will be a one-time effort to show that infested and broken-down buildings can be fixed and to highlight the important changes needed in City and State polices to prevent such problems in the future.  Of course, this all takes significant financial resources.  Fortunately, some partners are already stepping up to the plate with donations of services and volunteer times as well as tangible goods. GSOP would like to thank the Manchester Christian Church, St. Anslem’s College, the Manchester Department of Health and all others who are volunteering on this Campaign.

The Manchester chapter also continues to work on labor and immigration issues.

 

Nashua Chapter

 

NO MORE HOMELESSNESS

GSOP Nashua members have met with the Continuum of Care to discuss how GSOP can assist with the aim of eliminating homelessness by 2012.  Chapter members Bob Keating and Rev. Steve Edington testified before the Nashua City Council in support of devoting more Community Development Block grant funds in Nashua towards this goal.

 

 

 

Souhegan Valley Chapter

 

CATCH THE BUS!

The Souhegan Valley Transportation Collaborative continues to expand, experiencing some “growing pains” as it considers moving beyond Non Emergency Medical Service to grocery shopping and more. Thanks to a get out the vote campaign, Milford, Hollis, and Brookline voted in March to support the non-emergency medical transportation service financially during this fiscal year.

 

Staff Update

 

The GSOP Executive Council Board recently reviewed the work of Sarah Jane Knoy, GSOP’s lead organizer, and the council is very pleased to announce that Sarah Jane will be working with the organization for another year.   

 

Kaley Lentini, GSOP’s new outreach and communications coordinator who is funded by the Endowment for Health and Health Care for America Now, is proving to be a great help to the Souhegan Valley Chapter and the GSOP office, which share her services.

 

Upgrading GSOP

 

The GSOP office has finally procured a new computer with the help of Fred Plett, past treasurer, who also spent quite a bit of time installing it.  This will give us greater and speedier communication and storage capacity, which was badly needed.    Thanks, Fred!

 

UVIP in Action

The Upper Valley Interfaith Project, our sister organization in the Claremont/Lebanon area, held its first action on May 17^th. The action centered on public transportation to the local Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital.  More than 210 people from the UVIP member congregations attended the Action along with the CEO’s of Advance Transit and the Hospital, State Senator Matthew Houde and several state Representatives and local city and town government officials.

 

All agreed that the underpass pictured here is a public safety hazard and agreed to work with UVIP leaders to find a way for people to get to Alice Peck Day Hospital without having to navigate this underpass on foot.

 

UVIP President, Rod Wendt, said, “The Action proved that UVIP is a force in the community and we are here to stay.  It was awesome!”

 Our own Sarah Jane Knoy was the lead organizer for this action, as UVIP is in the process of searching for a new organizer. 

 

For more information about the Granite State Organizing Project, please contact:

Sarah Jane Knoy

383 Beech Street

Manchester, NH 03101

granitestateop@comcast.net

603-668-8250