By Chad Barthe

July 28, 2021

Lancaster, PA– About a dozen members from Put People First PA and the Lancaster County Homeless Union attended Tuesday’s city council meeting. Although they were not on the agenda, the group challenged council members over the impact of recent infrastructure regulations that have gentrified neighborhoods and kicked low-income residents out onto the streets.

The activists claimed that Franklin and Marshall College found that nearly 48% of Lancaster City Residents are poor or low-income. The United States Census Bureau found the Lancaster poverty rate is 26.5%, more than double the state’s rate.

Tammy Rojas, 44, is the PPF PA’s leader in Lancaster City and an executive leader of Lancaster County Homeless Union. Before the meeting, Tammy guided and assured some of the newer attendees as to the trajectory of the night. The group ranged in age, ethnicity, and political leanings.

The Office of Neighborhood Engagement began the meeting with a highlight of the city’s diversity and community building efforts, with the rest of the agenda consisting of an ordinance passing new legislation that would increase the salary of the Mayor in the 2022 election and a revision to water shut-off notification procedures and COVID-19 construction regulations.

The activists were easily perturbed by these legislation proposals citing these updates should not be a priority during a housing crisis and only confused residents more. One gentleman eventually left during the middle of the meeting, making Tammy lose one of her testimonies.

When the council came around to Public Comment, about seven members read speeches on the stand. Despite a three-minute limit, most presentations went overtime or overlapped one another.

Tammy herself was the first to speak, demanding that the city government make fighting poverty a priority. She criticized all levels of the American government for their mishandling of the pandemic and designation of relief to healthcare profiteers. She also criticized Penn Medicine’s mishandling of her contraction of the COVID-19 virus.

In another speech, Mathew Rosing detailed his experience spending 14 months in the Lancaster City prison. He was denied bail because he was homeless but eventually found not guilty and released. He said, “I sat in prions for 14 months because I was homeless. The city’s heart is dying.”

Jessica Lopez also voiced concern multiple times throughout the meeting. Lopez worked at Catalina’s Bar and Grille until the owners were forced to sell their liquor license in the middle of July after dozens of police-involved incidents, including a shooting. The bar was quite popular amongst racial minorities in the city. Lopez accused the county of racial profiling, as multiple bars experienced similar shootings and instances of violence without any pressure for them to close. In her free time, Lopez closely works with Mickey’s Mission of Hope.

Michelle Uleary, head of Mickey’s Mission of Hope, was also vocal throughout the meeting. The organization feeds homeless residents that congregate in Binn’s Park. During her comments, she said, “Yes I’m shaking because I’m angry not because I’m scared.” She questioned why churches were allowed to hand out food without push back from the City while police sought to arrest her. She additionally admitted she’s been attempting to reach Mayor Sorace’s office for over two years.

Dennis Garrett, a veteran, currently living at the Lancaster Transitional Living Center, delivered a controversial statement. He encouraged the council to work with the federal government in deporting illegal immigrants that he believes are bringing COVID-19 into the nation. Garrett’s tirade caused many activists in the crowd to walk out and sparked aggressive arguments among a few.

Vinnie Rosarini moved with his family from Puerto Rico in 2015. He spoke extensively about his mother’s difficulty in finding suitable work despite her teaching experience and degree. He said how his family expected to be part of a diverse community but only found the same institutional corruption. He advocated for the council to focus on the poor, minority communities who struggled the hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic. He ended his speech by saying, “When we lift from the bottom, we all rise.”

Multiple more PPF members spoke throughout the night, repeating the same critical arguments until council Vice President Pete Soto closed public comment. Afterward, many activists expressed a willingness to cooperate with the local government to help bring relief to struggling residents. Yet Tammy, and many others, felt that change was impossible without systematic change.

Lancaster City Council meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month and are open to the public. All meetings are streamed live and posted on the City’s Youtube page.

Future events and information can be found on Put People First PA and Lancaster County Homeless Union’s Facebook pages.