Valerie Bonds is a former educator and a new but active member of MSAC’s Cambridge-Somerville chapter. After learning about the group from Cambridge- Somerville chapter president John Ratliff, she quickly plugged in.
“The thing that interested me the most [about MSAC] was the strength in numbers, and this was prior to any knowledge of what MSAC had done,” Valerie said. “The word that spoke to me was “active” – I mean, I’ve been on so many committees and councils that talk and that’s all that they’ve done. When John mentioned that there were outcomes that were see-able, that’s really what drew me.”
Soon after joining, Valerie linked up with other MSAC members in a local effort to beat back a proposed rule change that would have raised rents for some seniors and disabled residents that use housing vouchers in Cambridge. After a three- month push, the seniors celebrated victory as the rule was scrapped.
Since then, she’s not only been attending meetings, but also making calls to turn out other members. She says the continuity of these contacts is important to creating a community. “It’s not four times a year or every 2 months, it’s making contact and keeping in touch with people on a weekly basis makes this a routine,” Valerie said. “[I want to work on] growing our membership... the other thing I think is important is the relationship of elderly and disabled people with public and private housing.”