Guelph Union of Tenants and Supporters

From their web site: GUTS is a grassroots anti-poverty group. We started as a group of tenants who came together to pool our resources in order to help one another. We have spent the last 4 years learning AbOUT and organizing around issues of poverty in Guelph . We try to help people help themselves when they are facing negligent or harassing landlords, welfare caseworkers, or employers. We don't want to to be another social service agency and offer band aid solutions; we want to empower ourselves and one another as we work and fight.

GUTS has had a wide spectrum of activity. We have served free dinners downtown without fail since August 2004. We have organized protests in Guelph against police harassment and disrupted the meetings of right-wing City Council when they threatened to slash the social housing budget. We have helped hundreds of people take a stand against their landlords and welfare/disability caseworkers. We have been an important radical voice in media debates around poverty. GUTS believes that real change comes from the grassroots level. We cannot wait for people with power to act because it's not in their interest to redistribute power and wealth. We recognize that asking nicely does not always get the goods. Society's law is not ours–it exists to maintain inequality and power over people. We are not bound by this law. When it is necessary, we use disruption as a tactic for getting the needs of our communities met. We don't rule out asking politely when it is strategic but we recognize that to make any real change, we must take what we need. We want to create and share power. We work to oppose racism, sexism, homophobia, police, and governments.

GUTS recognizes that this land was stolen from its original inhabitants. We know that ' Canada ' exists because of historical and ongoing violence and [...]. We work to support the efforts of Native people to resist the ongoing colonization of their land. We stand in solidarity with Native people in their struggle for sovereignty and self-determination.

GUTS is committed to creating alternatives that increase our self-sufficiency. The world is an unstable place and we do not want to be saved. We will save ourselves. We believe it is necessary to create our own democratic institutions that can provide for some of our needs while resisting the dominant dog-eat-dog economy: free community meals, community gardens and free public space. We try to work outside the money economy as much as possible.

GUTS is an informal and constantly changing organization. We do not have legal training nor do we get paid for what we do. We use a cell phone as our group contact and don't have an office of our own. Some of us have had the privilege of attending university; others have not. Some of us know what it's like to be constantly struggling to pay the bills; some of us come from privileged homes. We are an open group, hoping to connect with more and more folks in the community interested in fighting poverty in Guelph . We want to be a resource for other communities to organize themselves. We want to share resources, skills, and knowledge with other communities who are working towards similar goals.

Free Food Weekly Picnic

Our picnics are available on Sunday evenings at 5:00pm at the corner of Wyndham and MacDonnell, outside of the Legal Clinic.

Since food is a necessity for people to live, we think that it is ridiculous that food should cost money. However, since food does cost money and money is not evenly distributed, we have decided to provide free food ourselves. The act of sharing food and eating together reclaims community space. Despite repeated harassment by the Guelph Police, some local businesses, and the City of Guelph, we will continue to have free meals. In defiance of the City of Guelph's threats to shut us down, many many people came out on Friday January 13, 2006. At the height over 40 people were present, with people coming and going throughout the picnic. Our numbers never dropped below 20. On Sunday January 15, 2006 as we were packing up, the police came by to harass us. We will continue to have community picnics regardless of the City's attempts to shut us down. Since last winter, our dinners have been able to continue without much police interference. Thanks for all the support. Fight to win!

External links

• The Guelph Union of Tenants and Supporters web site
• The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty's website
• Guelph Social Justice

pt:Guelph Union of Tenants and Supporters