The Declaration of Financial Independence
By: The Community Empowerment Fund

We the PEOPLE of the Community Empowerment Fund declare our independence from the oppression and tyranny of the unjust financial system, whose banks are built on the backs of the poor. This system has turned us against ourselves, our brethren and our sistren, putting individual property ahead of community well-being.

We declare today, on this day the second of July, two thousand and eleven, in union, our independence from this System and our firmly held belief in a Financial System built on a different set of values, a System that upholds justice, equality and its People. We hold these truths to be self-evident:

We furthermore hold this truth to be self-evident, That whenever any form of Power becomes destructive and ceases to support the Common Wealth, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new System, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Systems long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce the People under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Powers, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these People; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Financial Systems.

The history of the present Financial Crisis is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute and corporate Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world:

We, therefore, the People of the Community Empowerment Fund, do solemnly publish and declare, that these People united are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent; that they are absolved from all allegiance to Oppressive Debt; and that as Free and Independent Members, they have full and collective Power that has been heretofore unrealized to promote Peace, build Community, establish Fairness, and to conclude together upon the proverbial Mountaintop. And for the support of this Declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our Support, our Trust, and our Beloved Community.

Master of ceremonies at 2013 Box-Out!

A monthly column by CEF’s very own:
Mike Wood

There was a phrase I learned in prison. It was in a class designed to teach me and my fellow inmates how not to re-offend. “If nothing changes then nothing changes.” One of my fellow inmates would express that thought cast in a slightly different way. “If you keep on doing what you always done, you’ll keep on getting what you always got.” Makes a lot of sense don’t it ?

But as is the case in all the little catch phrases we learn along the journey. It’s easy to change, the difficulty lies in staying changed. By lunchtime on the day of my release I was right back to doing the very same thing that had always gotten me locked up in the past. You see I am an addict and my addiction follows me even when I am not actively using. The whole time I was in prison, staying sober but gorging myself on Honey Buns and Reese Cups, my addiction was on the weight pile and running laps in preparation for my release.

While I readily accept that not all the members of our class took the same road to homelessness as I did. I have come to believe that we share more in common with one another than the relatively small ways in which we may differ. It would seem to some that it’s simple, if something is not working for you, just change it. My confounded non addicted friends would often tell me, “all you need is more willpower.” Fair enough; but towards the end of my addiction I always felt like someone that had taken a whole bottle of laxatives and was now trying not to go to the bathroom.

I know full well that my willingness to change was the key to my recovery. But how do I get others to come to that same conclusion? There are times when I feel totally inadequate for the task. But I don’t spend too much time lamenting the complexity of my goals. That would not be good for my own vulnerabilities. I don’t spend a lot of time telling them what they should do. But I am never reluctant to tell them what I did.

I think that the best thing that I can do for them is create an environment in which they will choose to do the right thing. If I want them to think a certain way I know it best if I leave the book open to the chapter that I want them to read. But I also know that there is great therapy in a good example. And I make every effort to be that good example. Because as much as I must accept my powerlessness over them. I can and I do have power over my own behavior.

I’m sure they must think me boastful when I talk about how well my life is going. But it’s not the house nor the possessions that I most cherish. It is my self respect that gives me the most pleasure and of course the respect of my family and friends. What I want for them is just that. That thing that till now was not there for me. Because I have had the housing and the money before. But today I have learned that the best things in life are not things at all.

Don’t get me wrong, housing and money are precious commodities and what I want for all our members. But character is destiny. Had I taken my same bad habits into the house that I currently reside I would not have been one bit better off. If all I do all day is sit around the house and stay sober, pretty soon I’ll be drunk. So thanks CEF for giving me the fantastic opportunity to try to help others. It keeps me grounded. It is in my self interest to do just exactly what it is that I try to do.

LOCATION CHANGE: We’re moving today’s celebration to Chapel of the Cross, at 304 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

How It Works is a monthly column by our very own (Member, Alumnus, BBQ Master, CEF Opportunity Class Teacher, Sage of Sayings) Mike Wood.

If we were to poll all the members of CEF as to what they feel the key to their becoming more self reliant, the number one answer would almost certainly be that they need more income. While this is a good answer and one that I do not necessarily disagree with, there are other aspects of our strategy going forward that we would all do well to consider.

If I were asked to characterize the life I led prior to my association with CEF I would have to acknowledge that my most conspicuous defect was that I was so completely self obsessed. The drugs and alcohol that would eventually bring me down with a resounding thud were merely a symptom of a life consumed by ceaseless self-interest. I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it and cared not a wit as to who it might harm.

When the consequences of my self-absorbed behavior resulted in rehab, prisons and eventually homelessness, there was but one thing that I knew for certain. What I was doing was definitely not working. While some might consider it to be counter-intuitive, I came to believe that it was in my own self interest to try to help others. As the song goes, “when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.” With this realization I became willing to change.

Believe me I did not wake up one morning and decide that I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Gandhi or Mother Teresa. But through my association with the people at CEF and other volunteers there at the shelter I could observe that their lives seemed to be going a lot better than my own.

I knew that when the only person in my world that mattered was me, the results could only be characterized as tragic. I was determined to change that trajectory. Now it didn’t happen all of a sudden and my life not unlike the rest of us remains a work in progress. But what I am most grateful for is the opportunity I have been given by CEF to try to make a difference in the lives of others and that gratitude has turned to optimism and that optimism to achievement.

The transition to a more meaningful life is never an event, it is a process and part of that process for me is trying to be of service to others. By living a more selfless lifestyle the results have been fabulous. Not to say that I am this heroic figure or anything but compared to the hell I came here from and with all things considered, my life is pretty cool. As one of my favorite humans, Muhammad Ali once said; “Service to others is the rent we pay for our room here on earth.”

Money is good stuff and there is no shame in aspiring to get more of it. But I would encourage anyone wishing to carve out a more meaningful life to consider how they might help others to do the same. Don’t waltz through the door of opportunity only to slam it shut behind you. You would likely end up in a room full of meaningless things that don’t work the way you had hoped they would.

When the Alumni Advisory Council held their first meeting in March, they came up with a list of CEF’s core values to display in the office. Here is the list! In no particular order…

• Consistency / time
• Sincerity
• Humanity
• Honesty
• Goals and achievement
• Dedication
• Communication
• Love
• Partnership
• Welcoming
• Green/Growing
• Discrimination free
• Sharing
• Equality
• Justice
• Commitment
• Bonds
• Empathy
• Relationships
• Ability to be treated as a human
• Recognition
• Respect
• Non-judgmental
• Silly
• Listening
• Celebration
• Independence
• Freedom
• Family

Thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Stewards Fund of $15,000, all donations to the Community Empowerment Fund made from March 1 through May 31 will be doubled!

Donate NOW to double your dollars and create double the impact in sustaining transitions out of homelessness. 

Simply click here to donate now.

Or give by check, making checks payable to the Community Empowerment Fund
133 1/2 E. Franklin Street, Suite 105
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Why give to CEF? Learn more and read member stories here.