| Pat is an example
to our community that one person can make a difference in
helping others develop a strong sense of individual
responsibility so that citizens can recognize their duties
as well as their rights. In this process, she has worked
cooperatively with her neighbors to make our home a better
place to live.
As a single parent in a public housing project in Erie,
Pat decided to take a leadership role in helping fellow
residents of public housing throughout the city. In 1990 she
was the co-founder of the Erie Tenant Council, a voluntary
association comprised of representatives from all of the
Erie Housing Authority’s residential complexes. The council
works with Erie Housing Authority staff and other social
service agencies to develop and implement educational and
recreational programs for residents, and to encourage
residents to become positive catalysts for change in their
neighborhoods. It also refers individuals and families to
appropriate legal representation and counsel when
circumstances warrant.
As President of the Erie Tenant
Council for the past ten years, Pat has emphasized the need
for training initiatives and classes designed to teach
residents of public housing units organizational and
leadership skills so that ordinary citizens can take
responsibility for confronting challenges that exist in
their communities. She was instrumental in writing and then
implementing a Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency
(ROSS) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development that enabled the hiring of a staff person to
help neighborhood tenant councils facilitate program goals.
Pat has worked in other ways to develop a collective
vision for improving the lives of public housing residents.
Examples of her “hands-on” approach to community needs was
her work to establish the John E. Horan Garden Apartments
Food Pantry. Under her leadership, the food pantry has been
open for the past four years, providing much-needed food
items to over 100 public housing families on a regular
basis. Pat was responsible for organizing groups of
residents and other volunteers to staff the pantry, and she
continues to devote many hours of her own time to the
project.
For the past five years Pat has served as member of the
Erie Housing Authority’s Resident Advisory Board (RAB), a
group that offers input to the Authority as part of their
strategic planning process. Pat provided strong leadership
to the RAB by first recruiting a cross-section of public
housing residents to serve on the RAB, and by joining with
her peers to provide guidance to the Authority on
programming goals and spending priorities. She also serves
on the Housing Authority’s Section 8 Family Self-sufficiency
Coordinating Committee, a group that evaluates and
recommends Section 8 residents to participate in the Family
Self-Sufficiency Program.
Pat was recently part of a planning committee to help the
Housing Authority design a handicap-accessible playground
for the families living in the John E. Horan Garden
Apartments. The playground is scheduled for completion this
year (2008).
In addition to her volunteer efforts for residents in
public housing, and legal aid for poverty-level individuals
and families, Pat was a Girl Scout troop leader for ten
years, and she has been involved with the “Companions on the
Way” program administered by the local Area Agency on Aging.
When she has the time, Pat also loves to volunteer to read
at her granddaughter’s school.
The list of past recipients of the Liberty Bell Award is
a very distinguished group of local citizens. Patricia
Mickel is an important example to all of us that an
“ordinary” person, with determination, hard work and a
spirit of cooperation with neighbors and friends, can
produce “extraordinary” results that benefit our community,
and help ensure access to justice for all.
Congratulations on this well-deserved
award! |
