Some 500 volunteers of the Pima County Interfaith Council knocked on the doors of 7,000 homes in Tucson recently in an effort to discover the effects of the
economic pressures people are facing. Their goal: Gather stories, build power and make collective change. The walk, organized by the council, was undertaken by volunteers from 41 institutions– congregations, schools and nonprofits– and walked out of 10 different sites:
Sacred Heart Catholic Church,
Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church,
Blessed Kateri Tekawitha,
St. Mark’s Presbyterian,
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church,
Congregation Chaverim,
Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church,
St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church in the Hills,
Our Lady Queen of All Saints, and
Tucson Youth Development.

For many the idea of knocking on doors and engaging in conversations with strangers ranged from uncomfortable to intimidating—emotions the walkers put aside
for the larger purpose of providing a voice for people in need. And indeed, upon their return—with the kind of smile you have when you know you’ve done a good job—walkers made comments like: “the people were thankful that someone took interest in ordinary people’” and “we dropped our stereotypes as we knocked on doors,” and “their dignity was saved because they knew their stories were helping us” and “I didn’t know I had it in me to knock and talk to neighbors.”

The volunteers identified jobs as the number one concern: being laid off, not being able to find another job, fear of—and in some cases the reality of—not being able to pay bills. The second concern is lack of health care, which has become an even greater problem as people lost jobs and benefits. Some people expressed a desperate need for basic supplies such as food, and diapers. Other stories included the affordability of rent and mortgages.Council leader Alice Weekley and organizer Genevieve Padilla said the plan is to reach out to more people. For more information, call 520-903-2333.