Members go door to door in Lexington to talk to folks about economic justice issues

Members of the central Kentucky chapter's economic justice work team set out over the last week to survey folks in Lexington neighborhoods regarding economic justice issues.

 This process began in November of 2010 when the chapter dedicated their monthly meeting to talking about the need to become more visible in the community and to have a better sense of the of the issues that Lexington residents care about. Several of the chapter members formed a work team and began crafting a survey to take door to door. The survey contains questions about access to good jobs, household bills, civic engagement, safety, voter registration status and community dialogue.

 The committee decided that the best way to prioritize the city was by voting precinct. Precincts are already layed out by the city and maps are available through the county clerks office. There is also census data available which can tell you the demographics of a specific precinct. The committee took thirteen precincts from all over Lexington and prioritized them based upon median income.

 On Sunday Feb 27th they went door to door in the Ohio-Walnut precinct (near the Lyric theater) and completed nine surveys where folks talked about expensive gas and water bills being a big problem and a lack of good paying jobs as also being a barrier to people's success.

 On Thursday March 3rd members went door to in the Ayelsford precinct (near UK campus) and ended up talking to several residents who complained about high rents and absentee landlords. One of the questions on the survey is whether folks think it would be useful for their communities to be able to come together and discuss these problems and overwhelmingly people that members spoke to said yes.

 So far the committee has collected 17 surveys. This coming Sunday March 13th folks are meeting up at 3pm to go door to door in the Fairlawn precinct (N. Limestone area near La Roca UMC). If you'd like to be a part of this effort please contact the local organizer at [email protected].