Michigan Welfare Rights Organization

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                                       "You get what you are organized to take!"

People's Bulletin

February 2003  •  Number 2

WATER DEPT. DIRECTOR – ‘POOR CAN BE SACRIFICED’

VICTOR MERCADO, DIRECTOR OF THE DETROIR WATER AND SEWERAGE

DEPARTMENT, STILL REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GRAVITY OF THE

WATER CRISIS FOR DETROIT’S POOR, DISABLED, AND SENIORS!

Detroit, MI – In a recent interview with reporters from BBC World Television and Sweetwater Alliance, Victor Mercado, DWSD Director, still refused to acknowledge the severity of the water crisis for some of Detroit’s most vulnerable people. Admitting that the Water Dept. has an “aggressive policy to recover delinquent funds” that often result in water shut-offs for poor families, low-income seniors, and disabled persons, Mercado denies that the DSWD is unsympathetic. WE KNOW OTHERWISE! Today there are still THOUSANDS of homes without water and many more in shut-off status. Families all over Wayne County are living in fear that Water Dept employees will show up on their doorsteps with wrenches and cement to shut off their water pipe connections. However, City Council President Maryanne Mahaffey calls this water crisis a ‘horrible scandal.’ She has set up an emergency committee to look into the problem. Mahaffey wants to see a law in the City of Detroit that says “water cannot be shut off…because water should be a right.” In response to the dire water problems for Detroit’s poor families, U.S. Congressman John Conyers says he will call for a town meeting to hear more about this “intolerable” problem. Congressman Conyers calls this situation “a matter of life or death” and declares “water a human right!”

MICHIGAN WELFARE RIGHTS ORGANIZING MEETING FOR WATER

Saturday, February 15, 2003 from 3-5 p.m.

First Unitarian Universalist Church (4605 Cass, enter red door of parking lot at Cass/Forest)

“This is an Outrage!”

MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU STAY CONNECTED ON THESE ISSUES

To get the latest information on the utility crisis (water, gas, electricity) and more, contact the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization:

Telephone: (313) 832-0618          Fax: (313) 832-1409

Website:     www.mwro.org     E-mail: [email protected]

Sweetwater Alliance-Detroit (313) 410-4155   www.waterissweet.org  [email protected]

Fight for your rights!!

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