Origin of SOUL

Pittsburgh City Council Testimony – October 6, 2009 Carlino Giampolo

I gave testimony today at the City Council, and this is the essence of what was said.

The issue of litter and trash in Oakland is about human dignity. The elderly, long-time residents of Oakland deserve to live with dignity in a clean and healthy environment.

Our grassroots movement began at a kitchen table. Across from me was a 77 year-old long time resident whose husband died of cancer, whose son died of cancer, who lives with a son that is legally blind, and who has a daughter with multiple sclerosis.

She began to tell me the horrifying stories of students throwing litter and trash into her yard, of students throwing feces into her neighbor’s yard, of students living in filthy conditions, of students having parties until 2 and 3 in the morning and of a student who told her daughter, “This neighborhood doesn’t belong to you anymore, this neighborhood is ours.”

That kind of story can be replicated hundreds of times by Oakland’s long-rime residents, but many of them suffer in silence. They have lost hope that anything will be done.

It was a defining moment for me. I could have remained silent and just walked away and done nothing, instead I decided to start a grassroots movement that would focus on creating a clean environment in Oakland and lay the foundation for ending these problems.

We asked Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg for financial assistance, and he refused. He told us these are the community’s problems. He told us to start a Neighborhood Improvement District.

We asked Jeffrey Romoff, CEO of UPMC, for financial assistance, and he refused. As you are aware, the foundation for the growth of UPMC began in Oakland.

We wrote five letters to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl asking for his help in obtaining financial assistance from Pitt and UPMC, because these institutions must take greater responsibility for ending the problems. He remained silent.

Some of you supported us and we are deeply grateful. We are asking you, either individually or collectively, to give greater support to our community. You do not need an ordinance to end an injustice. You only need your own conscience and a willingness to do the right thing, simply because it is the right thing to do.

Our grassroots movement will continue to take action after action until the tide of this disgrace is reversed, and the long-time residents of Oakland can live with dignity.