The Reality Tour

The city of Rochester, New York Rochester is the 11th worst city in the country in terms of child poverty and fact, Rochester’s Latino child poverty rate is the sixth highest in the nation. As is the case in many cities, poor families in Rochester have been adversely affected by increasing lay-offs and county budget cuts in the area of social services.

The Rochester Chapter of the Social Welfare Action Alliance in coalition with poor people, advocates, and human service workers, have joined together to operationalize a Reality Tour. This 3-hour event takes riders on a tour of blighted areas, a the abandoned subway, the welfare department on St. Paul, House of Mercy, St. Joseph's Neighborhood Center/Health Center, and a vacant lot next to the House of Mercy. The tour has also made other symbolic “tour stops” which emphasize where the community’s spending priorities seem to be (soccer stadiums, prison expansion, etc.).

Date: Saturday, April 10, 2010

Time: Board the bus at 11:45 a.m. Tour ends approximately 3:00 p.m.

Place: Bus will depart from the parking lot of 845 St. Paul St. (Next to Steve’s Empire Collision)

RSVP by April 1, 2010. Seats are confirmed when payment is received. For more information call 585-395-5158 or e-mail RochesterRealityTour@gmail.com

Registration: $20 donation, $10 for students and low income. Make checks out to SWAA Rochester. Please write REALITY TOUR on the check! Mail checks to P.O. Box 17323 Rochester, NY 14617.

DAY OF TOUR PHONE NUMBERS: (If you are lost, late, or not coming) 585-738-9900 or 585-314-8426.

Wear comfortable shoes and prepare for rain or shine! Please keep in mind there is only one bathroom break, so plan accordingly.

Sponsored by EMPOWER Welfare Rights, House
of Mercy, Rochester Poor Peoples Coalition, Federation of Social Workers, National Association of Social Workers- Genesee Valley Division, Rochester Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and Department of Social Work at the College at Brockport/SUNY.