Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Flesch.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After being diagnosed with a serious illness, I was forced to retire. I made the decision to devote the remainder of my life to helping people as much as possible. I was fortunate enough to find Eastern Service Workers Association.
They had a place for me that was a perfect match. I believe I happen to have exceptionally good problem-solving skills and ESWA needed volunteers to advocate for ESWA members struggling from the ravages of poverty. Volunteering with ESWA has been a real eye-opener for me.
Having always been middle class I never understood the intricacies of the situations of the poor, that the things that happen to them could happen to anybody including me. Most of the people who come to ESWA for help are working, sometimes two or three jobs.
But the jobs don’t pay enough to even cover basic living expenses which leads to all kinds of problems I have had to address as an advocate. The most common problem is when someone cannot afford their utility bill, which is among the highest in the nation.
If they get shut off, it means going without heat in the winter, not having a fan or air conditioning in 90-degree temperatures in the summer, not being able to refrigerate your food and medication, not having electricity for medical devices and lighting so children can do their homework.
These can be life-threatening situations. I have spent countless hours on the phone negotiating deals with the utility companies and calling the Department of Public Utilities if necessary. I am currently advocating for a member whose husband is incarcerated.
He has been in prison longer than he should because he was sentenced based on mistaken identity. Nobody can call prisoners and it costs an outrageous amount of money to make telephone calls. Family members cannot visit them because many of the prisons are way out in the countryside and, without cars, families, and friends cannot get there.
I spent an entire day taking a member to see her husband in prison for the first time in a year. I have also assisted with ESWA’s Holiday budget saving benefits. We collect and distribute food for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I volunteered in sorting the food and delivering the holiday food baskets to members’ homes.
I coordinated ESWA’s annual Toy Collection and personally collected donations of about 1600 presents that were distributed to parents to give to their children. This project took many months of planning! I have found that the key to my happiness is making others happy and have found it to be very fulfilling to volunteer with ESWA.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Eastern Service Workers Association (ESWA). – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
ESWA is an association of low-paid service workers who do the majority of the work it takes to keep the city of Boston run – we take care the sick and elderly, provide child care, sweep and mop, prepare and cook the food, answer phones and other office work and are generally paid about one-third what it costs to live, forcing people to choose between basic life necessities like rent, food, and utilities.
75% of female heads of household in Massachusetts and 40% of two-parent households don’t earn enough to raise their children and provide for their survival needs, leaving 42% of children in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan in poverty. ESWA’s goal is to end this poverty. It Started in 1977 and has been building an organization that unites the lowest-paid workers through door-to-door canvasses and in the most economically devastated neighborhoods.
It’s a membership association and the members run a free of charge Benefit Program – including emergency and supplemental food, clothing, legal advice, dental care, utility advocacy, budget-saving programs, English classes, job referrals and more. It is built on a self-help basis, enabling members to survive so they can participate in the work to build long-term solutions to our collective problems.
Leadership members meet weekly and decide what actions to take like mobilizing a petition drive, that’s going on right now, to Boston area legislators to demand they roll back electric rates to a level all working people and small businesses can afford. We build alliances with the business community, professionals, congregations, students and concerned individuals who back the efforts of our members, volunteer and provide material support to make all this work possible.
Volunteers are urgently needed for everything! There is no shortage of volunteer needs so please call us today to find out more! What we are most proud of is every time a member can avert a crisis by preventing their gas or electricity or water from being shut off. Or gets legal advice that stops an eviction. Or collecting and distributing things like Back-to-School clothing and supplies that allows parents to save money.
One of the things that set us apart from others is that we are 100% all volunteer run, we don’t take a dime of government funding. We are open 365 days a year, our phones are answered 24/7. We have built an organization of working people that cross racial, cultural, age, religious, job status and gender barriers to advance the living and working conditions for the poorest, most disenfranchised and marginalized workers on up, that is, to build an economic floor below which no worker will fall.
To achieve this we have developed a method of grassroots organizing that anyone can learn. We use ‘on-the-job’ training. Volunteers learn as they go, and once they learn how to do something, they teach another. In this way, the organization grows stronger and is better able to accomplish our goal.
Contact Info:
- Address: 247 Bowdoin St., Dorchester, MA 02122
- Website: ESWABoston.org
- Phone: 617-265-9200
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
