06/01/2026
For more than four decades, Cheri Honkala has transformed survival into a movement for human rights, collective action, and social justice.
As co-founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, Cheri’s vision casts poverty not as a personal or policy failure but a human rights issue.
"There’s multi-million budgets, there’s nonprofits all over the place, and there’s nothing for people,” she says. “Every night in this city, homeless people have to do the homeless shuffle.”
Through organizing, bold public actions, and political education, Cheri’s lifelong dedication to the belief that everyone has a chance to live with dignity and hope has built power and sustained movements.
Cheri says: “We're educated, we're organized, and our goal is to recruit, multiply, and create another kind of world, because it's possible."
Click the link to sponsor, buy a ticket, make a gift, or learn more about the 2026 Tribute to Change: Resist, Rise Up, and Reimagine taking place on June 11 at Vie. Your support of Cheri's tenacity and leadership allows Bread & Roses to fund grassroots organizations working toward social justice all year long: https://breadrosesfund.org/2026tribute/
