I’m in the PCPE, and they seem to focus a lot on educating and radicalizing people.
That is important of course, but I thought that organizing material support for people that needs it would not only actually improve the lives of people but also show the general population that “the commies” aren’t some bloodthirsty monsters but instead actual people that want a better world.
What do you think? I think it’s a good idea.
Most definitely! Not only is it important to help homeless people as the most vulnerable class, but a lot of anxieties of rent-paying proletarians are specifically about how horrible it would be to become homeless without any support. Just be careful that some countries have some really backwards laws over organising and helping homeless people. It’ll also require a lot of training since some homeless people will be struggling with drug addiction or mental illness, and those need very special care. Over here we have the Homeless Worker Movement that does some cool ideas like free public restaurants in critical regions as well as more direct action such as coordinating occupations of abandoned housing
Yes. Homeless people should organize if they want their voice to be heard.
Yes, this is a good idea. You could also focus on the community-building aspect: these are our neighbors, capitalism has done huge violence to them, and we need to take care of each other because nobody else will. Whatever aid you focus on will likely be useful for more people than just the unhoused, which is ahain good community building.
Choose the right community to start in, too. Suburbsn rich crackerville will probably dehumanize the people you’re helping and see it as harmful. I wouldn’t do my first action there.
Tie your work to a larger project as well. Build a list of supporters with contact info so you can push a local electoral campaign, hold rallies to pressure politicians, etc. This will help justify and offset costs, as aid $$$ quickly adds up and you will need donations and all opportunities to build power.
Organizing and pushing for a housing first initiative and a bus/van transportation system would be awesome.
Doesn’t the youth wing of the PCPE stop evictions or is only the PCE that does it?
