Monday, December 27, 2010

Right To Share Food http://rtsf.us

                                  Right To Share Food
At Right To Share Food, we believe that sharing food with our brothers and sisters is a fundamental human right. We believe that sharing food is a constitutionally protected activity, guaranteed under the freedom of association clause of the first amendment of The Constitution of the United States of America. We believe that sharing food outside and in public is an equally protected activity. Our goal is to promote cooperation among people in order to exercise and defend this right.

Hello; let me introduce myself. My name is Michael Hubman. I am the founder and the facilitator of Right To Share Food. Since 2007 I have been lobbying on behalf of the human and civil rights of homeless people. I operate Watercorps, a charity that gives bulk drinking water to the homeless people living on the streets of Skid Row Los Angeles.

You might ask; why do we feel the need to organize and lobby to protect and exercise our right to share food? The answer is, that it is a common occurrence in contemporary society, for those who are morally and spiritually motivated, to want to help others who find themselves in a state of need. This state of need is often manifested by poverty, homelessness and destitution. Those who desire to come to the aid of their less fortunate brothers and sisters, commonly express this aid by sharing food.

Conflict occurs when government, most often municipalities, attempt to effect social engineering by restricting or forbidding the sharing of food on public property, the commons and even private property. I liken this kind of social engineering by cities to wildlife management. The problem is, we are talking about our human brothers and sisters, and not unwanted pigeons or other pesky wild life. Why?

I can’t speak for these municipal wild life managers. I can only guess. My guess as to why the sovereign would act in such a selfish and mean spirited manner is greed. Poverty and homelessness are commonly viewed by some who are not similarly afflicted as messy and unsightly. The sight of homeless and poor people lining up to receive a charitable meal makes it hard to convince oneself and others that all is well in their area of interest. When poverty and homelessness are not sufficiently hidden and dispersed, it tends to raise concerns among some who would worry about depressed commerce and property values.

When homeless people gather in public, especially in numbers, they often generate a response by government to harass them with the goal of dispersing them. The dispersing of the homeless to make them less visible robs them of community and society and denies them their right to associate. Harassing the people who want to share food and aid the homeless and poor is just another tactic to disperse them and deny them the right to associate and assemble.
Michael “Waterman” Hubman
714-746-1203           waterman@watercorps.net        

   http://www.watercorps.net/          http://www.righttosharefood.org/          (aka) http://www.rtsf.us/

http://www.casci.us/  (Coalition for the Abolition of Safer Cities Initiative)
http://www.meanestcity.us/  (This is a link to the 191 Pg. human rights report.)
http://www.plej.us/  (Peoples Lobby for Economic Justice)

Please Mail us a check.
Michael Hubman / Watercorps 620 E. First St. Los Angeles CA 90012   PayPal michaelcirclewider@yahoo.com

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Greetings From Skid Row Vol.2 No.3


 
Hello,                                                                                             
My name is Michael Hubman. I operate the charity Watercorps http://www.watercorps.net/ . I lobby on behalf of the human and civil rights of homeless people. I also lobby government concerning the right to share food and economic justice issues. The above issues are the subject of this and subsequent newsletters.

                                      
                                                 Four Years of Service
Watercorps has been in continual operation since our founding on October 15, 2006. That makes four years of continuous service.  We have consistently carried out our basic mission of providing bulk drinking water to the homeless people of Skid Row Los Angeles.  
                                          
                                                     Innovations
With the help of our network partner, The World Agape Drop-in Center, we are now capable of doing water operations without a vehicle. That is right; we are now able to provide drinking water to the homeless people of Skid Row Los Angeles with a shopping cart. We keep the Catholic Worker Shopping Cart at the World Agape Drop-in Center at 5th and San Pedro Streets. World Agape also keeps the water in their cooler. Using the shopping cart enables Watercorps volunteers who don’t have cars to perform water delivery.  This is also important during times when I have vehicle issues. Watercorps’ water operations without a car are a nearly zero carbon endeavor (very green).

Watercorps now has a web site http://www.watercorps.net/. There is also a very nice article about Watercorps in the LA Activist.http://www.laactivist.com/2010/07/26/water-man-provides-oasis-for-downtown-homeless/ .
                                                
                                                  Milestones and Progress
Watercorps has had some significant milestones in 2010 that make us proud. Besides providing drinking water to the homeless people of Skid Row Los Angeles, we also gave away drinking water at community events. This summer, we provided drinking water to the people who were lining up at the Los Angeles Sports Arena to get free medical, dental and vision care from Remote Area Medical (RAM).  We provided drinking water for the (RAM) event the year before, but this time was special. Because we had good vehicle access to the lines, we were able to give out 48 gallons of water in 16 ounce cups in less than two hours-a Watercorps record!  When the Nazis came to town to demonstrate at the Los Angeles City Hall, we provided 48 gallons of water to the people at the counter-demonstration. Watercorps also provided 48 gallons of water at the Right to share food Extravaganza (picnic).
The latter two events we did with the shopping cart.
                                        
                                                           Adversity
In 2009 and 2010 we have had some transportation issues. When Watercorps is hitting on all cylinders, we have two cars. When there is one car is parked at Union Station in Los Angeles, I can commute by train, and still have a vehicle to do water operations.  In the summer of 2009 the Isuzu Trooper which I kept in Los Angeles died. That fall my Ford Taurus also died. I did not have the resources to buy another car. Because Watercorps is a charity, I felt justified in reaching out for help. I got out the electronic version of my rolodex and started calling my friends and friends of Watercorps. My calls for help were answered when I reached out to James Shaw of Arts District Healing Center (ADHC). ADHC has been a Watercorps network partner from the beginning. ADHC is a water filtering site for Watercorps, and also provides other charitable assistance. Just before Christmas of 2009, James provided me / Watercorps with a nice 1999 Volvo.
                                                   
                                                         Please Help
Unfortunately the Volvo is experiencing maintenance issues and is out of commission, at least for now. I am again getting out my electronic rolodex and asking for help. If you have a vehicle which you don’t need any more, Watercorps could surely put it to good use.

 Watercorps has been operating with funds from my own account along with some generous help from my girlfriend’s custom bridal gown and alterations business http://www.lmodebridal.com/ ,and a few other benefactors. Well, funding is not what it used to be. If Watercorps were ever in need of help, now would be the time to contribute.  All donations go to water operations. You can send donations to my pay pal account. Michaelcirclewider@yahoo.com.

Watercorps Address:        Watercorps 
620 East First Street Los Angeles CA 90012
       
                                                          
                                           Telephone        714-746-1203 

Watercorps is also looking for help from another charity or community group who would serve as an umbrella for us under their 501-C3 nonprofit corporation.

Watercorps is looking for volunteer help with our web site, e-mail list management and publicity.

Watercorps would especially like to meet people who are interested in giving water to homeless people on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

Sincerely,

Michael Hubman