With 2.9% of every company's earnings contributing to the SSA, I am urging the decision-makers to consider the welfare of such a diverse community of citizens who are so in need of a hope to hold on to. By making one small step for man, we can rest assured that addressing this issue head-on is the most important leap for mankind during this prevailing crisis. By increasing policies to aid the crisis itself, I believe that taking action will create a domino effect in which others will want to be apart of. It is not too late to make a difference, sign this petition to propel this initiative forward and enact change in our country today.

The Autistic community, like the LGBTQIA+ community, has been wrongfully pathologized and oppressed. In fact, the very same people who attempted to convert gay children into straight children began by attempting to convert Autistic children into neurotypical children. In 1961, Norwegian psychologist Dr. Ole Ivar Lovaas was hired by UCLA to investigate the perceived behavioral problems of Autistic children. Inspired by the work of Harvard psychologist Dr. Burrhus Frederic Skinner, Lovaas developed Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to make Autistic children “indistinguishable from their peers.” More than a decade later, in 1972, Lovaas and his team of researchers used ABA to “treat” gay children in the government-funded Feminine Boy Project. Fortunately, the queer movement was able to mobilize and force the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and World Health Organization (WHO) to remove homosexuality from their lists of mental illnesses, which, in turn, shifted public discourse towards banning conversion therapies for LGBTQIA+ children. Unfortunately, the Neurodiversity Movement, in its infancy, has not been able to build up the same kind of popular support for demedicalizing the neurocognitive style of Autism, so conversion therapies for Autistic children still persist under the guise of “treatment.” Indeed, even the public school system employs ABA practitioners to “help” children in special education courses, which are just another manifestation of segregation (in this case discrimination against neurominorities). But if the queer and Autistic powerhouses unite under the same banner, we can show the Minnesota Legislature that, by neglecting to prohibit ABA and its derivatives—Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), “social skills training,” and so forth—it is actively legitimizing autistiphobia. Furthermore, because Autistics are more likely to identify as LGBTQIA+, when so-called allies of the queer community permit medical assistance coverage of ABA, they are, in effect, sentencing the very children they claim to support to suffer through conversion therapy in its original form. To this we say “No more.” Sign and share this petition to show the Minnesota Legislature that ABA has no place in the land of 10,000 lakes! ••• To learn more about the unjust pathologization of Autistics, the evidence against ABA interventions, and the international effort to ban them, please read the following sources: https://neuroqueer.com/autism-and-the-pathology-paradigm/ https://therapistndc.org/applied-behavior-analysis-aba/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322239353_Evidence_of_increased_PTSD_symptoms_in_autistics_exposed_to_applied_behavior_analysis https://autcollab.org/projects/ban-of-conversion-therapies/ https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/inquiry-into-the-consequences-of-conversion-therapies-for-autistic-children

Over 6 million children in the US live with food insecurity. The expanded child tax credit, combined with the USDA program that provided free meals for all school children were a lifeline for hardworking families struggling to put food on the table. The double whammy of both these programs expiring, combined with rising grocery prices, puts America's children at further risk of hunger. No child should go to bed hungry. And we know that children can not learn if they are not fed. Universal free meals is the moral thing to do. It ensures our kids grow up healthy and well educated, which benefits us all.

People at high risk and their family members have a right to be able to attend school, to work, and to travel, just like everyone else. Requiring masks in public transportation settings is an important measure that can keep vital parts of the community safe and accessible for everyone. I am the mother of three beautiful children: a kind and sensitive Lego lover, a spunky son who tackles every challenge with a smile, and a confident and feisty daughter. My hilarious and spunky middle child also has several disabilities. He spent the first 11 months of his life in the hospital and has a history of chronic respiratory failure. He also has a tracheostomy and requires a ventilator to help him breathe. He had a stroke shortly after his second birthday, which puts him at risk of clotting issues. Our family embraces everything about each of my kids—including disability, which we view as just another part of life and parenthood! As you can imagine, my son’s health conditions put him at extremely high risk of developing serious complications were he to contract COVID-19. Also, my 4-year-old is not yet eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19, leaving her at increased risk as well. I am grateful for the decisions the Biden administration has made to prioritize the health and safety of individuals with disabilities and those who are immunocompromised. But the recent decision by a Florida judge to strike down the transportation mask mandate could have devastating consequences for my family and so many others. Please know that mask mandates on public transportation are indispensable to families like mine. Time and time again, we've seen COVID-19 measures be relaxed, only for cases to rise, leading to more and more preventable deaths. It's unacceptable. More than a million people have already died in the U.S. from COVID-19. Continuing to protect those at risk by maintaining basic public health protections during a pandemic is not a hardship; it is the bare minimum we must do to protect the health of our country.

Think back to when you were 18, 19, even 21, did you have need for a automatic rifle? Or even a handgun? So, why would we sell guns to 18 year olds? With no training, little background info, and zero questioning, we let a child buy weapons that kill. Are you comfortable with this? Please help raise this ridiculous legal age limit to something other than 18.

Please help by signing this petition. We want to ensure that our unhoused citizens maintain their right to employment and resources essential for their survival and path to recovery. This petition will be presented to the Wausau City Council. By agreeing on the basic human rights of our unhoused, we can begin to work together to help.

What does financial regulation have to do with the baby formula crisis? More than you might think. Just four companies sell almost all baby formula in the United States: Abbott, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle, and Perrigo. This concentration in the industry leaves the supply chain vulnerable. Abbott Laboratories, a $35 billion conglomerate, is under fire for manufacturing baby formula in dirty facilities that caused two babies to die of a bacterial infection and made at least two others sick. Now, one of the biggest factories in the country is closed while regulators work to ensure it’s free of contamination, which means desperate parents are driving hours just to find formula. How did this crisis happen? One reason is that regulators let Abbott Laboratories buy back more than $5 billion of its own stock while it covered up unsanitary conditions in its factory. Instead of making sure their product was safe, Abbott’s executives lied to safety inspectors while spending corporate cash on pumping up its stock price. Before 1980, corporations were outlawed from buying back their own stock — and there’s no good reason regulators shouldn’t outlaw it again. This year, the biggest corporations are expected to spend a record $1 trillion on stock buybacks, shattering records and showering cash on shareholders — instead of investing it in product safety, innovation, or workers. The baby formula crisis should be the last straw. It’s sickening that Abbott would buy back stock instead of keeping babies safe. Chair Gary Gensler at the Securities and Exchange Commission has the authority to slam the brakes on corporate buybacks. Chair Gensler is doing good work to rein in financial wrongdoing, but needs to hear from us that this is important. Please help us send a message to Chair Gensler that corporate stock buybacks are bad for everyone but the CEOs and executives they enrich.

The City’s funding is crucial to the Health Gap’s continued work of meeting people where they are to improve our health outcomes. City Council’s support of Closing the Health Gap has helped our community in the mission to close the health gap. • The Health Gap has reached over 923,000 households through the WE MUST SAVE US CAMPAIGN, COVID- 19 Community Resources website and Town Halls to provide COVID-19 resources and vaccine education to the communities. • Since 2004 The Health Gap has reached over 1,094,307 people through its Do Right! Campaigns throughout 22 targeted Cincinnati neighborhoods, teaching people how to eat, move, and live right. • Over 141,280 have attended the annual Health Expo, where over 36,000 health screenings have been performed and countless valuable health information provided. • The Health Gap’s Do Right! Kids Initiative has 3,221 students participating in in-school and afterschool activities. • Do Right! Block by Block Initiatives in Mt. Auburn has impacted 1,000 participants annually. Tell your story, sign the petition and show Cincinnati City Council why their continued support of Closing the Health Gap is important in continuing the important work of eliminating ethnic and racial health disparities in Greater Cincinnati.

Under SB 964, the California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California systems would be required to develop accelerated programs for social work degrees, such as allowing students to combine their last one or two years of undergraduate study with their graduate work to complete both programs more quickly. Senate Bill 964 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would offer $37,000 in stipends to students pursuing a master’s degree in social work who go on to work in behavioral health at a public agency while creating a state fund to increase pay and provide bonuses for licensed professionals already working in the field. We must urgently restore and revitalize the behavioral health workforce. Our most vulnerable will receive the aid they need with a rejuvenated workforce treated equitably and representing all Californians.

Bills 597 & 598 would cut all funding to community based behavioral health care systems in Michigan. These bills would privatize the Medicaid Mental Health services by giving full financial control and oversight to for-profit insurance companies. These bills would eliminate public accountabily, transparency (e.g., not be subject to comply with the Freedom of Information Act) and the ability to collaborate with community partners such as law enforcement, hospitals, schools, courts, housing and more. Over 62 Michigan counties have already passed resolutions opposing these bills and the Wayne County Commission is in direct opposition as well. Sign the petition to help us put a stop to SB 597 and 598 today! Bill 597: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2021-SB-0597 Bill 598: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2021-SB-0598"

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. On behalf of all student athletes and students, we hope that you will take this time as an opportunity to invest in their mental health. The Mental Health Reform Act embedded in the 21st Century Cures Act includes funding to promote integrated physical and mental health care. A policy requiring student athletes to speak with a mental health professional at least once during their sport’s season. Just as students are required to have annual physicals and dental check up requirements for player eligibility. We are asking you to work on creating a mental health component to add those requirements. In addition, athletes experience emotional trauma from being out of the game due to an injury. If an injury occurs that causes an athlete to be out at least 3-4 months, speaking with a mental health professional prior to returning to play would be just as beneficial. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I am asking policy-makers to support a student athlete mental health initiative.

Addiction is a brain disease, not a choice. Individuals in Connecticut with Substance Use Disorders are overdosing on heroin and fentanyl at alarming rates. In March, 2022, Connecticut received approximately $95 million from the Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family settlement, yet addiction treatment is still not readily available. The agreement authorizes Connecticut to use a portion of the settlement funds to establish an Opioid Survivors Trust to directly aid survivors and victims of the opioid epidemic. WHERE ARE THE SETTLEMENT FUNDS? CONNECTICUT NEEDS TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO ADDICTION TREATMENT NOW!