A Reason to Believe, by Gov. Deval Patrick: on Welfare & Poverty

Saw severe poverty in 1970s West Africa

I had never seen such poverty. It made my own experience growing up in Chicago seem small & insignificant. Most people lived in rudimentary shelters Everything was put to use. Every part of every animal, every part of every crop. And everything was shared. The generosity of material and spirit humbled me and changed me. I surrendered to it.

Even before my year in West Africa was over, I had stood in places that I could have never conjured on my own, and I had received what I had come for: a deeper understanding of how broken, impoverished, or otherwise challenging surroundings could not defeat the resourcefulness and generosity of people.

As law student, won Legal Aid landlord-tenant cases

The case then went to trial, which was unheard of in a landlord-tenant dispute. I argued that in MA, you can withhold your rent if the conditions of tenancy have been violated. I showed how the faulty appliances, sporadic utility service, and general unresponsiveness of the landlord were chronic and justified my clients' withholding the rent. We won, and the judge grudgingly ordered the largest payment to a tenant in the history of that court at the time. My clients never collected, but they remained in their home & stabilized their lives. I will never forget the look of relief on their faces and the pride they felt in a system that would vindicate those who were most vulnerable. That, I felt, was why I was in law school.