COVID-19 eviction policies at the state, local, and federal levels initially proved effective in preventing housing instability during the pandemic. However, eviction rates have since risen again as national and statewide moratoriums have ended. Presently, a greater number of Americans are facing challenges in meeting rent obligations compared to previous years, with communities of color disproportionately impacted by economic hardships resulting from the pandemic. This disparity is evident in survey data showing that 24 percent of Black renters surveyed were behind on rent payments, while only 11 percent of white renters surveyed faced similar difficulties. Locally, North Charleston and Columbia are both ranked in the top 10 across the country for eviction. Research has shown that eviction can be the equivalent of a prison record: poor black men may be locked up, but poor black women are locked out. both phenomena work together to propagate economic disadvantages. Unfortunately, about 40% of evictions involve children, which have lasting traumatic impacts. Expunging evictions would eliminate one of the many barriers to affordable housing, which we all desperately need.

Investing in education and mentorship is a proven strategy to address the root causes of juvenile delinquency, fostering a positive environment that can break the cycle of incarceration.

Hello, we are middle school girls who are doing a project for 7th grade. We have noticed that there are no menstrual products or sanitary bins in the ferry bathrooms. You can't even buy them in the galley. We thought that this would be a perfect topic to stand up for what we think is right and fair. These products are only available if you ask a crew member. You already have to pay for the period products, and now you have to go up to a stranger and ask them for something that you might not feel comfortable asking for. This can lead to embarrassment, and can also cause people who have periods to not feel supported by their community. This makes us question our equality. The ferry provides all the basic bathroom necessities for people who don't menstruate. But they omit some of the basic bathroom necessities for people who do menstruate. When we reached out to the ferry customer service they said that they removed the period product dispensers due to vandalism. When basic things like toilet paper, soap dispensers, and paper towel machines get vandalized, the ferry management accepts the cost of vandalism, puts them back out, and restocks them. On the other hand, when period products get vandalized, the ferry management uses vandalism as an acceptable reason to take them down and get rid of them. The lack of period products in the bathrooms is a lack of respect and privacy. This is an unequal level of service based on gender. If you want to support getting period products and sanitary bins in the ferry bathrooms, please sign our petition. Thank you for reading. :)

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender and Gender Expansive Health released a study in the journal Annals of Plastic Surgery on November 1. They reviewed over 2,300 cases of chest masculinization surgery (top surgery) performed in the U.S. between 2012 and 2020. The researchers found no correlation between a patient’s BMI and whether the person develops severe post-surgical complications, even though that measurement is frequently used to determine whether a surgery will be approved or denied. The authors of the study recommend “re-evaluation of BMI cutoffs” and say “When you look at the data and you look at complications resulting from top surgery, BMI really doesn’t factor into it much at all,” Despite this Both major providers of chest masculinization surgery in Denver, CO Denver Health and UCHealth will often not even take referrals for people with a BMI over 40. My primary care doctor told me that there was no point in her ever referring me because they will just deny the referral. These two hospitals are the only places in the entire state of Colorado that I could find who take Medicaid for chest masculinization surgery as well which leads to more denials for poor and disabled trans people. Please consider signing and sharing this petition so that more trans people of Denver have access to the gender affirming care they need!

No one is above the law. The recent ruling by a Colorado judge that found that former President Donald Trump incited insurrection, but can remain on the ballot, must be challenged by everyone who calls America home. It might seem like commonsense that when a person commits an insurrection or treasonous acts on our community, state, or nation, that said person should be disqualified from running for any local, state, or federal public office. However we are a nation ruled by laws- not commonsense, and we must advocate for appealing the recent ruling in higher courts and champion laws that protect our communities. Judge Sarah B. Wallace, 2nd Judicial District Court judge, found that Trump incited an insurrection and could not use the “freedom of speech” argument to justify his actions, and that Secretaries of State could in fact could remove him from the ballot. However the judge used a legal technicality to allow Trump to remain on the ballot. The judge ruled “that the drafters of the Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend to include the President as “an officer of the United States.” The question if the judge was correct in using this technicality has two parts: 1. Is the president an officer? This question is a legal issue, and it will be argued on appeals, potentially up to the Supreme Court. I would submit that as commander in chief, the leader of our armed forces, the president is the highest officer in our nation. 2. Should a president be disqualified from running for any and all public office if they incited an insurrection? Absolutely! No person is above the law. Any person (especially a President) that commits an insurrection or treasonous acts on our community, state, or nation, should be disqualified from running for any local, state, or federal public office. This question is an advocacy issue and therefore we must champion laws that protect our communities. Can you sign on to this petition to the Senate and House leadership to champion laws that protect our community from any person (and that includes Presidents) that commits an insurrection or treasonous acts on our community, state, or nation?

It can take YEARS to be granted asylum in the US- but it starts with an interview at entry. The "credible fear" interview occurs when a potential asylum seeker expresses why they are fleeing their home country. If granted, the person/family begins the process for consideration of asylum. It took one local family over 20 years for their asylum case. We should NOT be increasing the BARRIERS to consideration for asylum at stage one.

In September, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed new regulations for the H-2A guest worker program that would reduce abuse, exploitation and trafficking of farm workers. Transparency and accountability in the H-2A program will in turn improve the wages and working conditions of US workers. The 327 pages of complex regulations by the Biden administration would improve the lives of the hard working men and women who harvest our food and reflect the recommendations that the farm worker movement have been making for years. The public comment period will be open until November 14th. Please help us do all we can to make sure these changed regulations go into effect by sending your email to make sure the final regulations are as strong as possible and improve workers' conditions, wages, and ability to organize. The proposed DOL regulations would improve conditions for H-2A farm workers by: * Strengthening workers' right to advocate, form a union & have key services in employer-provided housing * Protecting workers from unjust firing, retaliation, and other violations by employers * Prohibiting employers from confiscating travel documents to prevent human trafficking * Targeting unlawful fees, fraud, and other abuse in the recruitment and hiring of workers These changes are urgently needed. Just last year, a federal investigation uncovered how H-2A employers ran a human trafficking ring, described by prosecutors as "modern day slavery" in Florida, Texas, and Georgia. In Utah, the former President of the Utah Farm Bureau is now subject to a human trafficking investigation after physically assaulting H-2A workers on his farm. Wage theft, abuse and exploitation are commonplace in the H-2A program and displace US workers while employers profit. This can't keep happening. The current system is broken and oversight is urgently needed and the regulations must be changed. Take action to send us your comments, add a personalized comment on the box on the share page and we can submit them en masse and save you the difficulty of navigating through the government website.

The news over the last few days has been horrifying. Attacks on everyday people are war crimes that have no place in any conflict. Hamas’ deadly attacks against civilians and hostage-taking are unconscionable. A siege of Gaza where millions of people — many of whom are children — are without water, food, or electricity also isn’t justice. The U.S. government has a crucial role to play in what happens next — and our voices can help ensure those efforts focus on preventing further escalation and protecting people’s lives. That’s why I’m calling on you today to urge the Biden administration to do all that it can to prevent further escalation of the crisis and safeguard people’s lives. Will you add your name to the petition now?

Our institutions, and quite frankly, just general normalcy are at stake. Chaos will ensue if MAGA leaders like Jordan or Scalise get picked as Speaker of the House and extremists likeMatt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene will only be emboldened. As the GOP circus continues, the American people are the ones who will continue paying the price for their chaos, as House Republicans continue to avoid governing and advancing progress. Sources: 1. "Freedom Caucus likely to play a bigger role in new GOP-led House. So who are they?" Pew Research Center, January 23, 2023 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/23/freedom-caucus-likely-to-play-a-bigger-role-in-new-gop-led-house-so-who-are-they/ 2. "Jim Jordan's rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far right. Could it soon make him speaker?" ABC News, October 16, 2023 https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jim-jordans-rapid-rise-cheered-trump-make-speaker-104002789 3. "Jim Jordan U.S. Representative from Ohio," GLAAD, October 6, 2023 https://glaad.org/gap/jim-jordan/

Housing can be a particularly cruel method of racial oppression and Home Owner Associations (HOAs) are often the tool. Green Valley Ranch HOA -- and many other HOAs -- have far too much power over residents and are motivated entirely by profit, often on the backs of low income people of color looking for the American dream of owning their first home. HOAs should never restrict anybody's right to shelter. Nowhere is this more clear than in Denver at the Green Valley Ranch properties. We can stop Green Valley Ranch and other HOAs by joining together and making change on the local, state and national level. The Redress Movement works in deep partnership with local communities to repair the harm caused by intentional policies to segregate communities and we do our work by educating, mobilizing, shifting the narrative, and winning redress victories. Our starting point is housing but we work in solidarity with others who are facing the facts of history, redressing harms of the past, and healing our nation by dismantling the barriers that divide us.

When families expecting a child post to pregnancy websites like BabyCenter, they might not know that ICE is watching them. That’s because ICE contracts a data broker to scrape thousands of social media sites, gaming platforms, and even financial apps like CashApp. Why does ICE need to know when your baby is due, what video games you like to play, or where are you planning your next vacation? ICE doesn’t need this personal information about us, but because there’s a legal loophole, they can and do get access to a lot of our online activity. Congress must act now to close the Data Broker Loophole. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to close the Data Broker Loophole! ICE can reach into our personal online activity because they don’t do the spying themselves. Instead they contract out shady third party data brokers who do their spying for them and then give them wide access to everything they find. You’ve likely never heard of these companies, but they’ve probably already know a lot about you. For instance, ShadowDragon, the data broker ICE uses that scrapes data from BabyCenter. ShadowDragon doesn’t stop at pregnancy websites. According to their own internal videos and events, they scrape data from all the major social media platforms; gaming platforms like Fortnite, XBOX, and Playstation; review sites like Yelp and Tripadvisor; messaging apps like WhatsApp; even financial transaction apps like CashApp. The Fourth Amendment right against illegal government search and seizure needs to apply to the internet. That’s why Congress needs to act now to close the Data Broker Loophole. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to close the Data Broker Loophole! Sources: 1. 404 Media, “Inside ShadowDragon, The Tool That Lets ICE Monitor Pregnancy Tracking Sites and Fortnite Players,” September 18, 2023.

Jaahnavi Kandula is a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend and a human being, in addition to being Indian. Unlike what the officer said, Jaahnavi had VALUE, and an UNLIMITED VALUE. Let us stand and raise a voice against such abhorrent thinking, that Brown people have limited value. Despite the professional, social, and financial role played by Indians in the United States, we have not been able to escape racism and inequality many times, and our entire community has still quietly moved on. This event is the final straw and we demand fair treatment and for SPD to be held accountable for Jaahnavi's death. Please join us demanding justice for Jaahnavi Kandula.