What

The Manchester Chapter of the Granite State Organizing Project and our youth wing, Young Organizers United, have become known as a powerful force in the community.

Our Y.O.U. group is doing extraordinary things to bring attention to issues that point to inequities for low income students, immigrant students and students of color. Students that have been here longer need to have equal access to AP classes and college opportunities.

GSOP is also asking the city Board of School Committee to move forward on the Office of Civil Rights recommendation to actively recruit teachers of color as it reflects our student population.

Our meetings are a lively mix of relationship building, issue campaign work and skill building.

2018 concerns include fighting for the rights of low wage workers and to raise the minimum wage, addressing housing issues, including public housing concerns and working to lift the voices of students of color into local education debates. Also affordable quality childcare and immigrant rights.

History

Our members worked to create a Manchester Housing Commission on the issue of absentee land scofflaw landlords. They have successfully testified and presented recommendations to the board of mayor and alderman about holding landlords accountable.

We have focused attention on Title Loan Companies and their practice of providing short team loans to people at incredibly high-interest rates – generally as high as 300%! These lenders do not seek necessary information as to the ability of the borrower to pay back the loan. This practice takes unfair advantage of citizens living in poverty

In 2016, we devoted time and effort to educate people about the importance of voting. Candidate and Moral Economy forums were being held along with door to door canvassing to reach out to Manchester citizens.

We are proud to have facilitated meetings between the Police and youth of color and to have brought the faith community to support a peaceful Black Lives Matter march last summer.

Today

We continue to encourage people to share their stories of what it is like to raise a family on minimum wage in a city with average rents of $1,000+ for a two bedroom apartment.

We encourage renters to address their landlords, with our support, to win responses to violations on the improper care of basic necessities such as working faucets, toilets, heat along with the danger of asbestos and lead paint in some apartments.

We continue to stand outside fast food restaurants where workers earn poverty wages holding signs supporting a livable wage every month- rain or shine!

GSOP continues its efforts to invite more people of faith along with their faith communities to work with us in bringing about change in our city as we have many battles to face.