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How to Organize a Flying Squad

category north america / mexico | community struggles | opinion / analysis author Thursday May 12, 2005 18:40author by OCAP - NAF Report this post to the editors

What is a flying squad? It is a group of people, large or small who will mobilize on short notice to defend those whose health or life is in jeopardy because their rights are being denied from welfare, landlords, immigration officials or bosses.

How to Organize a Flying Squad


What is a flying squad? It is a group of people, large or small who will mobilize on short notice to defend those whose health or life is in jeopardy because their rights are being denied from welfare, landlords, immigration officials or bosses. This kind of advocacy is called direct action casework.

SWAG has been using this form of action to defend women facing severe crisis because of being denied benefits from welfare. We have not done casework in areas other than welfare. We learned the methods of direct action advocacy by talking with organizers from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) who have successfully mobilized flying squads for over ten years. This method of organizing to defending poor people was also used in the 1930s in Vancouver as well as in the 1960s in the US.

Direct action case has been an important way for OCAPto build both solidarity and their organization. Flying squads made up of antipoverty activists, student, and union activists have been successfully used to confront not only welfare, but errant bosses, immigration and landlords as well.

Anew book called "The Poors" also vividly describes how poor communities in South Africa band together to defend themselves from evictions and life-threatening water and electricity disconnections.

CASEWORK METHOD

First develop your Flying Squad list: Get people's numbers and ask if they would be willing to help people whose lives are in jeopardy because of injustice. Our list is made up of regular poor folks, activists, students, union activists, and seniors. We have found people eager to participate on a flying squad as it puts solidarity in action wins something immediate and tangible.

1) First explain what direct action casework is and see if this is the kind of help they want. Also ask them if they are willing to speak to the media (as the media may show up while you are doing your action, or the person may want to invite the media there specifically because they want the public to know what is happening).

Then get the persons story and take point form notes (usually in chronological order).Try to get the full story and be sure to be clear on what you can say to welfare and what you can't. (For example, you don't want to give welfare the impression that the person's children are not being fed which could lead to social workers apprending the children.) Also watch out for getting blindsided if they give welfare more information than they gave you. People sometimes treat welfare workers like counsellors and tell then much more information than is necessary. Ask all the questions that welfare will ask.

2) Research about the relevant welfare legislation that applies to their situation and then determine if what they want, or what they have been denied, is something that is within the legislation. It is important at this point, if talk to or email other advocates to ask them about legislation if you don't have experience with the issue.

3) Have the person you are helping to sign a release form (see below) that you can send to welfare. It tells welfare that the person who you are helping has agreed that you can speak and act on their behalf and that they allow welfare to release information to you.

4) Write a letter that outlines the case and the relevant legislation. Emphasize the urgency of the situation and that "community members" will be alarmed if this situation is not rectified. While describing the person's situation and how they are in peril, be careful to not write things that may lead to having the person's children apprehended.

5) Fax the letter and the release form to their worker. If you cannot get through to the worker, and the situation is urgent, then phone and fax the office supervisor, then the regional supervisor, and so on. Also you may want to fax all the higher levels of welfare bureaucracy (communications and policy branches) including the minister. Keep a list of all the welfare bureaucrats phone numbers and keep them updated. We have successfully resolved most problems at the level of the office supervisor or the regional office.

6) Whenever you talk to anyone from welfare, make sure you get the person's name, title and take good notes, and write the time and date of the call.

7) If you fail to win the issue at this point, then discuss the next step with the person you are helping and other activists and come up with a plan of action. This can vary from person to person depending on the situation and the urgency.

8) Make sure you have all the paper work together, supporting documents and letters, relevant legislation and case history. Find out of there are any extra extenuating circumstances - does the person have any health problems, did they leave an abusive situation etc.

9) Send another letter to welfare emphasising that their interpretation of the legislation is incorrect and that their response to the urgent situation is simply unacceptable. Then give them a clear deadline. State that if they do not get back to you by a specific day and time then you will assume they are refusing to favourably resolve the situation and that you will notify your community partners and will take appropriate action.

10) Decide where and when the flying squad will take place. It could be to the local welfare office or to the regional office. OCAP has also organized Home Visits to particularly vicious welfare bureaucrats and had sidewalk pickets outside their home.

The person you are helping does not even have to come with you if they are stressed and worn out. You do not need a lot of people. We have had squads as small as 6 and as big as 30. With a few days planning it would be easy to get over 50-100 people. In some cases you don't tell people where they are going but just the time and meeting place. In other cases you can organize a spontaneous flying squad by just gathering together who ever is immediately available and head down to the welfare or regional office.

11) When your flying squad convenes, introduce them to the person being helped and both of you can explain the situation, where you are going, what you want from welfare and what the next step will be if welfare still refuses.

12) Collect all your paperwork in a file, make sure you have copies of anything you need to give to welfare. Go into the welfare office. If possible, it should a surprise so they don't try to lock you out, so go in unobtrusively. Bring a notepad to take notes of anything that any welfare worker says to you. Document time, date and location and get each workers name. Have the main two advocates and the person being helped (if they are there) state the case and what you want (strongly and firmly) to a worker. The supervisor will then most likely come out to speak with you. If they still refuse to address the situation, then be insistent and state the urgency of the situation.

It is at this point that we usually win what we are asking for. The bureaucracy does not like to be disturbed, so it is easier for them to grant what they legally are able to grant than to have to put up with a bunch of pissed off poor people in the office. As long as what you are asking for is in the legislation or there is some kind of legal loop-hole that allows them to say yes (some of these loop-holes you may not even be aware of) then they suddenly find that there was a misunderstanding (they were all the time going to grant what was requested) or the legal department had erred, or some other thing.

13) If this does not work, organize a bigger action with more people. Every time we have organized a flying squad we have won, as long as there is a legal way for them to give you what you are asking for, they are only too happy to have you out of their office.

14) After the action is over, ask the person if they could join the flying squad list and invite them to get involved with your organization.

After a few flying squads you will find that most welfare crises can be resolved over the phone by talking to office supervisors. Sometimes you just need to ask them if they want 100 people in their office.

CASE WORK EXAMPLES

Case 1) Upon turning 19, a young woman was bumped, with no notice, off of Child in Home of a Relative (her grandmother received $400 for her care) and had to do a three week wait before she could get her own income assistance file. She had some medical problems which were made worse by a tragic family crisis. We found out there was no category for her to skip the three week wait even though she was not 'new' to welfare. We decided we would try to get her an emergency needs assessment. We went down to the welfare office with her and spoke to the front desk worker. He was a total jerk, barely looked at her doctor's note, then sneered back at us saying her situation was not life-threatening. After having a verbal skirmish with him, we told him we would return and it wouldn't just be two of us.

Back at the office we fired off a 3 page letter describing her circumstances and the worker's abusive behavior and sent it to the supervisor and the Regional Office. The letter stated that we needed to hear back by the next working day or community support would be called. Welfare called before the deadline and the situation was favourably resolved. Case

2) Asingle mom was being denied benefits even though she was eligible. The single mom had fully compiled with the verification officer but the VO was dragging her feet hoping, no doubt, the woman would give up and go away. Since the situation was absolutely urgent and we were getting no where with letters and phone calls, and the mom could not wait any longer, we did not send welfare a deadline. We just called people together who were immediately available and headed down to the office. She had a cheque less than 2 hours later. If this small group action had not solved the matter, we would have organized a bigger flying squad for the next day.

CHANGING RULES, CHANGING TACTICS, CHANGING DEMANDS

As the rules change, so must tactics and demands. Obviously we need an emergency guaranteed livable income to avert disaster in thousands of peoples lives. Direct action casework is a way to win things right now for people while we organize for longer term demands. The case work victories build solidarity and people get the chance exercise their collective muscle often for the first time. It gives people opportunity to take direct action for themselves and others and is a lot more empowering than doing a traditional rally or march.

However, the sad truth of the matter is that while there are lots of people who want to go on flying squads, there are few volunteer advocates who will do the initial casework. Often since the issue gets resolved with a letter, some activists find it too much paperwork, too much work to learn the legislation and too much of a commitment.

There is an urgent need for the 'social justice' community to fund organizing centres (since there would never be a chance of getting any 'official' funding) that has a meeting space, a fax, a photocopier, a phone and the internet. This would be a dynamic way for people to address immediate needs while also organizing for systemic change. Unfortunately, those with the will don't have the money, and those with the money don't have the will and don't seem to want to make donations so poor people can organize to defend themselves. Too many people prefer to give to feel-good charities, but don't want to provide the funds to help people affected by poverty to organize to defend themselves.

C. L'Hirondelle 2003


Ontatio Coalition Against Poverty

OCAPis a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We mount campaigns against regressive government policies as they affect poor and working people. In addition, we provide directaction advocacy for individuals against eviction, termination of welfare benefits, and deportation. We believe in the power of people to organize themselves. We believe in the power of resistance.


From Firebrand No 3

Firebrand is a newspaper for rank and file workers in Portland. It's aims are building the power of rank and file workers and fighting the bureaucrats, bosses, and politicians who are our enemies.

To view the paper online, go to www.nafederation.org or download the PDF version from http://www.nafederation.org/issuethree.pdf

To submit an article for the next issue of the Firebrand, send an email to Firebrand@nafederation.org

Firebrand is a publication of the Firebrand Collective, a member collective of the Northwest Anarchist Federation.

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