1. Ensuring Equal Access to Voting The bill addresses a major barrier to voting: access to a valid ID. Many eligible voters, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, seniors, people with disabilities, and individuals experiencing homelessness, struggle to afford the cost of obtaining a REAL ID or upgrading to a REAL ID Driver’s License. By upgrading their current forms of identification to REAL ID-compliant versions at no cost, this bill ensures that these groups can participate in elections without the financial burden of paying for an ID. 2. Promoting Voter Inclusivity Historically, certain populations have been marginalized in the electoral process due to lack of access to valid identification. This bill seeks to level the playing field by ensuring that individuals at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, seniors, and disabled individuals can vote without being excluded due to inability to afford the cost of updating their identification. 3. Supporting Individuals with Disabilities People with disabilities often face additional obstacles in daily life, including barriers to obtaining and updating identification. This bill prioritizes their needs by ensuring they are not burdened with the cost of upgrading to a REAL ID or REAL ID Driver’s License making it easier for them to exercise their fundamental right to vote. 4. Addressing Homelessness Homeless individuals often lack the proper documentation and identification to vote. This bill removes the financial barrier, helping to integrate homeless individuals into the voting process, and giving them a voice in elections. 5. Reducing Voter Suppression Forcing people to pay for ID upgrades creates an unnecessary financial obstacle that disproportionately affects disadvantaged groups. This bill reduces voter suppression by eliminating the cost and ensuring everyone, regardless of their financial status, has equal access to participate in the democratic process. 6. Encouraging Civic Engagement By making the process of obtaining a REAL ID or REAL ID Driver’s License more accessible, this bill fosters greater civic engagement. When citizens are able to exercise their right to vote, they feel more empowered and connected to their communities and the democratic process. 7. Strengthening Democracy A democracy is only as strong as its ability to fairly represent all citizens. By ensuring that voting is accessible to everyone, including the most vulnerable, this bill strengthens the democratic process and ensures a fuller, more inclusive representation of the nation's diverse population.

This is an issue of accessibility for disabled people. Sure, MOST people can use the stairs, but does that mean we should leave behind our elderly and disabled? They should have an accessible way to get where they need to go. Beyond this, it is important for the daily well-being of everybody who lives here. What if we have heavy items such as packages to carry up? What about the people who live on upper floors? What if we’re just tired after a long day of work? 

Why Is This Important? HPRA is about keeping families together and ensuring that long-term undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children are not unfairly separated from their kids. These parents have built their lives in the U.S., contributed to their communities, and yet remain at risk of deportation—leaving their children behind to face emotional, financial, and social hardships. No child should have to grow up in fear of losing a parent due to outdated immigration laws. Why Should Others Join This Campaign? ✔ It Protects Families & Children • Thousands of U.S. citizen children are at risk of being separated from their parents. • Deportation disrupts children's education, mental health, and future stability. ✔ It’s a Fair & Practical Solution • HPRA is not an amnesty program; it provides a structured legal process with strict eligibility requirements. • It supports parents who have demonstrated their commitment to their families and communities. ✔ It Strengthens Communities & the Economy • Allowing parents to stay legally and work helps families achieve stability and strengthens the economy. • Strong, stable families contribute to safer, more connected communities. ✔ It’s a Human Issue, Not Just a Policy Debate • Behind every statistic is a real family, a real child, a real story. • These are hardworking parents who have built their lives here—they deserve a chance to stay and raise their children without fear. How I'd Explain It to a Friend "Imagine waking up every day wondering if your mom or dad will be taken away from you. Imagine your parents working hard, paying taxes, and contributing to the community, yet they have no way to fix their status. That’s the reality for thousands of families in the U.S. right now." "HPRA is about providing a fair opportunity for these families. It’s not about automatically granting citizenship—it’s about preventing unnecessary family separations and allowing parents who have been here for years to live and work legally while raising their U.S. citizen children." "The more people who join this movement, the stronger our voices become—and the harder it is for lawmakers to ignore us."  Learn more about HPRA here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EsP7ijbHGwFqfhi3fk8PP6TJHdh0Yt2f7N69GLKlS5Y/edit?usp=sharing

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, many families in Western North Carolina remain isolated due to the destruction of essential bridges, their only connection to their homes. Temporary footbridges, funded by nonprofits, provided short-term relief but are inadequate for long-term use. Efforts to rebuild permanent structures have been halted due to FEMA's No-Rise Certification requirements. While these certifications are important for preventing future flooding, they require costly engineering studies and lengthy approval processes that many families cannot afford. Among those affected is my own family: my mother has been unable to reach her home except by four-wheeler, and an elderly neighbor battling cancer is stranded with only a footbridge for access. The storm has reshaped rivers and eroded landscapes, making exact reconstruction impossible for many. We urge North Carolina legislators to take immediate action by: 1. Waiving No-Rise Certification costs for families rebuilding essential access bridges. 2. Allocating funding for engineering studies to assist low-income residents. 3. Expediting the permitting process for critical recovery projects. These families need access to their homes, medical care, and resources now. We cannot wait for another disaster to make this right. Join us in calling for practical, compassionate solutions to this urgent issue.

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. 

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.

Join the Campaign to Lift the SNAP Ban! Help give people a second chance, break the cycle of poverty, and ensure food security. Why?  • Breaks cycle of poverty • Supports rehabilitation & reentry • Provides food security • Promotes justice reform Join to: •  Raise awareness •  Advocate for policy change •  Support organizations helping those in need Every voice counts! Sign & share the petition! Message...

Without this therapy pool, generously underwritten by the Alice Tuohy Foundation, our quality of life is vastly diminished. The new pool under construction in Goleta will be wonderful, but it will be very difficult for many of us to make that journey. With our aging population, Santa Barbara should have no trouble utilizing two (2) therapy pools! Their are so few heated therapy pools in California, we feel each is a treasure!  Even if you are not now using the pool for therapy, you may need it in the future.  We hope you can find a way to make retaining the existing, wonderful De la Vina pool possible.

1. 400 volunteers have been going in to pour into these women.  2.The recidivism rate is the lowest in the State of Arkansas 20.45% 3. Studies show that all the programs used in there. Trauma therapy, recovery, and spiritual support have brought these women ways of healing and becoming productive citizens. 

By raising our voices, we will expose a blatant but cleverly hidden mismanagement by FEMA that has allowed coal ash and pipelines on floodplains to escape mandatory insurance and pass all disaster relief to the consumer and taxpayer. This intentional move by FEMA has contributed to a decades long loss to the Disaster Relief Fund that is staggeringR