housing insecurity affects everyone, directly or indirectly. It impacts our schools, hospitals, businesses, and local economies. When families can’t afford housing, children’s education suffers, healthcare costs rise, and economic growth stalls. Affordable housing isn’t just about helping those in need—it’s about creating strong, thriving communities for all of us.

Providence, a $30 billion corporation, is Oregon’s largest healthcare provider. This strike is an opportunity for all of us to take a stand—because a broken system hurts every patient and every family. Sign the petition to demand that Providence negotiate fair contracts with the Oregon Nurses Association and the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association.

We all know someone with mental illness and we all have reached times of despair when dealing with them. It would be great to have help in providing adequate care and treatment for them. 

We need to save the lives of our "street people". There are too many out here starving, freezing, dying because they have nowhere warm. Our shelters are over run, and it's time to do something. We have other places we could convert into shelters, we have plenty of places that are willing to feed them. It's time to wake up and do your job, Mr. Ridenour. You're our mayor, and your people are dying in the streets. 

This could hinder and inhibit the sick and elderly’s health, leading into a faster decline. A person could possibly not afford nor be able to find other transportation and be denied government assistant healthcare. 

The Atlantic City Housing Authority Stanley Holmes Village is a humanitarian health and economic development crisis, because it endangers the health and wellness of several hundred children, seniors, and families during blistering cold weather. For example December 23, 2024, it was 12° degrees outside, and these America  families had no heat or hot water on the inside. 

As a student body, we demand immediate action to address these issues and improve mental health services at UW Madison. Specifically, we call on the administration to: 1. Hire more professional counselors: Increase the number of qualified therapists who specialize in addressing serious mental health concerns. 2. Provide face-to-face counseling: Virtual or phone-only sessions are not enough. Students need in-person services to build trust and meaningful connections. 3. Reduce wait times: Expand staffing and resources to ensure students can access help when they need it, without unnecessary delays. 4. Invest in mental health resources: Enhance outreach, workshops, and student support programs to proactively address mental health concerns. 5. We cannot allow these issues to persist. Delayed or inadequate care can lead to devastating consequences. As students, we are advocating for our right to access high-quality, accessible mental health care on campus. By signing this petition, you are joining the fight for a healthier, more supportive UW Madison. Let’s ensure that every student feels seen, valued, and supported. Together, we can build a campus culture that prioritizes mental health and well-being. Sign this petition to demand change now. Share your voice and make an impact. [Sign Here]

We’re asking the Seattle School Board to prioritize our kids’ safety and well-being over questionable business deals. By signing this letter, you’re helping ensure our students get real, safe, and effective mental health support. Here are the reasons why our collective action is important:  • Student Well-Being at Risk: This partnership with Talkspace could compromise the quality and safety of mental health support for our children. • Privacy Concerns: Potential risks to students’ sensitive personal data. • Financial Accountability: Why is this money being spent on a for-profit company with questionable practices instead of proven local solutions and partnerships? This is not an investment in our students or our community. Here are the reasons why this action is urgent: This partnership potentially impacts the mental health of over 55,000 students in Seattle. Partnering with a company like Talkspace could mean putting profit over care, leaving vulnerable kids without the support they need. If we don’t act now, this could set a precedent for future decisions that prioritize cost over quality in our schools.

Hostile architecture harms everyone, not just the homeless. It leaves the elderly, pregnant women, and the disabled without a place to properly rest. These types of seating are incompatible with mobility aids and make life harder for an already marginalized group. Anti-homeless architecture in Lafayette should be replaced with proper seating for the benefit of all citizens. 

As of December 19th, my children will have spent six years in foster care, completely cut off from family connections, parental visits, and phone calls. This has resulted in a profound sense of abandonment and alienation, largely due to the actions of the department. The intention behind this approach seems to be to make them more adoptable, but it only reinforces the feeling that they are unloved and unwanted. This is why I believe Title IV-E federal funding should be repealed; it no longer fulfills its original purpose. Below are the negative failures of title 4E federal funding. I had a generated by AI... I didn't want people to second-guess me or think I didn't have my facts straight.  Title IV-E of the Social Security Act provides federal funding for foster care and adoption assistance programs. While the intent of this funding is to support children in the welfare system and promote family stability, there can be negative results and impacts on families. Here are some potential negative outcomes associated with Title IV-E funding: 1. **Incentivization of Foster Care Placement**: The funding structure may inadvertently incentivize the placement of children into foster care rather than supporting families to stay together. This can lead to unnecessary separations and trauma for children and parents. 2. **Limited Support for Preventive Services**: Title IV-E funding primarily focuses on foster care and adoption assistance, which may result in insufficient resources allocated for preventive services that could help families avoid entering the child welfare system in the first place. 3. **Overburdened Child Welfare System**: Increased funding for foster care can lead to an influx of cases, overwhelming the child welfare system. This can result in inadequate attention and resources for families in crisis, leading to poorer outcomes for children and families. 4. **Disparities in Access to Services**: Families from marginalized communities may face barriers in accessing the benefits of Title IV-E funding. This can exacerbate existing inequalities and lead to disproportionate rates of foster care placements among certain populations. 5. **Stigmatization of Families**: The involvement of child welfare services can carry a stigma, which may discourage families from seeking help. This stigma can lead to isolation and further challenges for families struggling with issues that could be addressed with appropriate support. 6. **Short-Term Focus**: The funding may prioritize immediate placements and financial assistance over long-term solutions that address the root causes of family instability, such as poverty, mental health issues, and substance abuse. 7. **Potential for Mismanagement**: With increased funding, there is a risk of mismanagement or misuse of resources, which can detract from the intended support for families and children. This can lead to a lack of accountability and transparency in how funds are utilized. 8. **Impact on Family Reunification**: The focus on foster care placements may delay or complicate the process of family reunification, as resources may be more readily available for foster care than for services that support reunification efforts. 9. **Emotional and Psychological Effects**: The trauma of entering the foster care system can have lasting emotional and psychological effects on children and their families, which may not be adequately addressed by the services funded under Title

Time and time again, the far-right majority of the Supreme Court has put special interests and politics ahead of people and above delivering justice under the law. But we cannot and will not be silent. Student debt fuels economic, gender, and racial inequality. Our persistent racial wealth gap means that students of color, especially those who are Black and brown, are more likely to have student debt, borrow in higher quantities, and face more struggles in repayment. A higher education should be the key to a better future, instead of a lifetime debt sentence that limits borrowers’ ability to buy homes, start small businesses, and save for retirement, cutting into opportunities for wealth-building over their lifetimes. This is why student loan cancellation is so important. Trump's agenda includes dismantling the Department of Education (DOE), which would have devastating impacts on our communities. The DOE oversees the Pell Grant and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which gives aid to college students who need financial aid. The DOE also enforces the civil rights of students, and supports school programs that support students with disabilities. But Trump, Republicans, and Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices cannot have the last word. We won’t let them win. We have to push back and be in solidarity with each other. Together, we can keep getting loud to show the President Biden that he has the power to to give millions of Americans the student loan relief they need and deserve. President Biden must cancel student debt via executive order before Trump and Republicans gain control over all three branches of our federal government. Will you sign the petition?

Why the increased permitting fees are essential: • A properly funded Air Program could mean more effective health protections from dangerous air pollution. Without the increased permitting fees, the Air Program could be weakened, further harming Allegheny County residents who already suffer from asthma and other health problems.  • Increased permitting fees would be paid by plant operators and applicants – NOT taxpayers. • This is especially important as the County is facing a large budget deficit.  • The fee increases are monies that would supplement the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) Air Program budget at no cost to taxpayers. • Approving the fee increase shifts the burden of covering these costs to, in most cases, million - and billion dollar industries that can easily afford to pay it.  • The fee increase essentially makes these companies cover the costs of obeying the law. • An adequately funded ACHD is critical to protecting the health of Allegheny County residents. Currently, the staff working to protect our air quality is under-resourced and overworked. https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2025/01/26/iulia-vann-allegheny-county-health-department/stories/202501190046 • The Clean Air Act requires ACHD to charge Title V facilities fees that are sufficient to cover the cost of administering the program.  • This critical fee upgrade is long overdue and is something the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) recommended in their 2018 audit of the ACHD Title V Air Program • The large companies that profit from polluting Allegheny County’s air increase the burden on ACHD and make ACHD’s work more vital. Increased fees would help ACHD hold them accountable. Who is against the fee increases? • U.S. Steel is lobbying hard against the increased fees, a company that can easily afford to pay these increased permit fees: • U.S. Steel disingenuously claims that the fee increases would have a detrimental impact.  • Under ACHD’s proposed fee increases, U.S. Steel’s annual total Title V fees for its Allegheny County facilities would be just 0.009% ($165,000) of U.S. Steel reported earnings of $2.14 billion in 2023.  • Compared to such monumental earnings, any claim that the significantly smaller Title V renewal permit fee, required only once every five years, would impact U.S. Steel’s coffers further strains credulity.  • The Clairton facility alone released 1.1 million pounds of toxic emissions into the air in 2021.  • Despite all evidence to the contrary, U.S. Steel also argues that its “steelmaking process is done in the safest and most environmentally responsible manner.” Yet in just the first quarter of 2023, ACHD found more than 1,500 instances of non-compliance at U.S. Steel's Clairton Plant alone.  • U.S. Steel’s egregious level of noncompliance required significant ACHD resources to identify and rein in, including for inspections and enforcement actions.  • Yet U.S. Steel's three Mon Valley facilities each currently pay an annual fee of $8,000 for the facility’s Title V permit - an inadequate amount. • This imbalance between ACHD’s time and effort necessary to ensure compliance and the current fee structure exemplifies that raising the fees is needed and warranted.  • Additionally, for smaller facilities that emit less than 50 tons per year, the current fee of $8,000 will increase to only $15,000.  • The fee schedule thereby ensures that the largest facilities that most burden the community and ACHD are the focal point of these fee increases.