Patricia Hewitt Quotes

I know that government doesn't have the all solutions that real solutions do not come from the top down. Instead, the ways to end poverty come from all of us. We are part of the solution.

I love being a part of something that is grassroots, and you can see the actual changes, the effect of what people do.

There are many ways of encouraging people to make life better other than joining a political party. Politics with a small 'p' isn't just about darkened committee rooms, endless meetings - it is about giving people the right to make decisions about our lives.

The problem is not in the office: the problem is out there. Every day I go to the people, go to the street. I can ask the people what they want, what they need.

We can’ t renew our country unless more of us—I mean all of us—are willing to join churches.

I am determined to be a first class citizen.

I think it is important the communities are listened to and that their voice is heard, particularly with local government boundaries more than parliamentary boundaries, because you are talking very much about communities. It can be a very emotive thing.

Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out.

You can't assume anything in politics. That's why every Saturday I walk around my district. I talk to the longshoremen in Charlestown. I listen to the people in East Boston and their concern on the airport noise. I walk down to the Star Market in Porter Square, and people tell me about meat prices.

I can tell you, you know, I am a person that every - people that do really know me well know that I'm extremely passionate about fighting for my families and the residents back home.

Local politics matters a lot.

It's easy to follow national politics and weigh in on social media, but if I'm tweeting stuff about Chatham County, no one cares.

I think it's my job to walk my beat and find the people I cover who have questions that should be answered.

We strongly believe that individual advocates play an important role in developing a civil society.

Trying to learn from communities and engage with policy makers and community organizers all across the country is really important to me.

I always have been an activist for things that were just authentically a part of my life, that I felt connected to.

I really believe you've gotta put the power in the people. They're the ones who are gonna make the experience.

Be informed, ask questions, band together with your community, and fight at the local level. And make sure you take your local elections as seriously as the national ones.

I really believe in sharing my story to improve social behaviors in the nation.

The people who care the most about the folks in your community are living in the community. They don't live in Washington, D.C.

Public service and community organizing and movement building is such a part of my DNA that it's really hard to separate it.

In my four years as a state legislator, I went to dozens of nontraditional events - everything from bird watchings to tree giveaways, neighborhood cleanups to self-defense clinics for women - going where people are instead of asking them to come to me. It's how I learned about their struggles and how legislative decisions affected their lives.

To rebuild confidence in the power of people working together to create something better, we must give people the power to do precisely that for themselves.

The Kind Foundation was created to scale our social impact and be able to deepen our focus on fostering empathy and developing kinder communities.

I think I bring a perspective that local communities are what make this country great, and they are the laboratories of democracy.