Thursday night, May 26th at 7pm at Temple Israel of Boston, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization will hold an action in support of the Health Care Access and Affordability Act, a major piece of legislation that will provide health care coverage to 80% of the 500,000 people currently uninsured in Massachusetts. They’re expecting more than 1,000 people to show up, representing the various member organizations of GBIO. They will tell their stories about the necessity of expanding health care in this state; recognize legislators that have signed on to support the bill; and will commit to getting 40,000 of the necessary 65,825 signatures to qualify the bill for a 2006 ballot initiative.
Here’s my full disclosure: I am an active participant in GBIO — what they call a "key leader". I got involved through the church I used to sing at because of some work they were doing on affordable housing issues.
GBIO encompasses a wildly diverse group of organizations, from TrinityChurch in Copley Square to Temple Salem in Dorchester to TempleDorshei Tzedek in Newton. You could not have a better representation of the "New Boston" than this. The leadership team at GBIO is the smartest,savviest, best-organized, and nicest group of folks you could meet. And as a whole, GBIO doesn’t just speak Truth to Power: GBIO invites Power into the house, sits it down, serves it tea, tells the Truth that breaks Power’s heart, holds Power’s hand tightly, looks Power in the eye, and says, "You need to be with us."
This is going to be a great event — the beginning of an 18 month journey to get health coverage for thousands of folks who don’t have it. I’ll have a rundown afterwards.
