We the citizens of the United States of America petition that funding for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development be expanded in the 2016 fiscal year with special consideration being given to Housing First Programs. Housing First is not only the most humane way to eliminate chronic homelessness in this country, it is also the most cost effective in the long run. For every 100,000 people housed through Housing First we can save $1.3 billion dollars according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. As voting constituents, we urge your implementation of this program to see our tax dollars used in the most efficient manner in the fight to eliminate homelessness. Housing First is the only program proven to both be cost effective and has the housing retention rates reflective of long-term success at getting people housed and keeping them housed. Let's end homelessness in America!

MOST SENIORS AND DISABLED ARE EFFECTED ONCE THEY RECEIVE THEIR COLA RAISE, WHICH ISN'T A RAISE IF IT'S TAKEN AWAY AS SOON AS THEY GET IT.

Adding density only benefits developers and reduces the quality of life for the residents of Lyon Township and the surrounding communities.

The People of Santa Cruz are put through the distressing task of trying to get to the Eastern Main Road every morning, which takes at least two hours in traffic from upper Santa Cruz to the Santa Cruz old road. While we acknowledge that traffic is a nationwide problem, we continue to experience further delays as our roads deteriorate with widening pot holes along the saddle, causing undue stress to those leaving Santa Cruz. This is unacceptable and the people of Santa Cruz are demanding that our roads be fixed immediately. We have lived through months of this distress. The roads are patched poorly and return to their obscene condition shortly thereafter. We have a newly elected government, but the local government body has not changed! We demand attention NOW! This is our democratic right!

Closter Dock Road is a county road that runs through the towns of Closter and Alpine in Bergen County. Closter Dock Road is traveled by tractor trailers and over-sized vehicles every day, which not only create excessive noise and pollution, but even more alarming, these vehicles create a safety hazard to anyone living or traveling along this road. The trucks also clog up downtown Closter, and once Closter Plaza is finished, traffic and congestion will be even worse. Local government’s hands are tied by the county, so we need your support to force the county to change the conditions that exist on Closter Dock Road and help make our towns safer and a better place to live. Our beautiful, historic town is being negatively impacted by all these commercial vehicles. Please sign our petition; we need your help!

My son was placed in an out-of-home youth facility for petty vandalism and his time there nearly ruined his life. I know firsthand the damage these facilities can cause and how they fail to keep our communities safe. The last thing our state needs is another children’s institution. There are more cost effective, proven alternatives that are far better for West Virginia’s young people. West Virginia took critical steps to address our state’s broken juvenile justice system. In April, a set of reforms aimed at increasing public safety and eliminating taxpayer waste by keeping kids in their communities and out of costly detention centers was signed into law. These important reforms were lauded as a much-needed step to keep West Virginians safer while at the same time positively impacting West Virginia’s youth and their families. But now, all that hard work is being threatened. The Department of Health and Human Resources has fast-tracked the Dazzy Vance Mountain Resort, an unneeded 70-bed for–profit facility for youth with mental or behavioral issues to be built in the Earl Ray Industrial Park in Logan. The proposed facility will confine children as young as 4! We can’t let that happen. Governor Tomblin: Don’t allow Dazzy Vance Mountain Resort to go forward! It’s already been proven by that facilities like Dazzy Vance aren’t working for West Virginia. The bipartisan Intergovernmental Task Force on Juvenile Justice was unanimous in its findings that West Virginia was wasting taxpayer money by sending lower-level juvenile offenders to centers like Dazzy Vance at a staggering $100,000 or more per child per year. Dazzy Vance’s costs will be even higher – costing taxpayers $182,500 per child per year. Even worse, the Task Force found that youth are unnecessarily spending more time in these kinds of facilities than ever before. I know firsthand just how broken these facilities are because my own son was in one. After my son violated probation by spray painting a building, he was taken from his community and placed in a West Virginia detention center. After being given medication that made him violent, he was locked in solitary confinement and I, his mother, wasn’t allowed to make decisions regarding his medical treatment. He was later transferred to another facility where he spent every day locked down in his cell. Not only are these methods extreme, but they haven’t been proven to keep kids out of trouble long-term. West Virginia can’t keep wasting money on solutions that don’t work. Community-based alternatives that keep kids with their families and provide intensive treatment services have been proven to be more effective at keeping kids out of the system and communities safe. These programs are a fraction of the cost in comparison to housing youth in facilities like the proposed Dazzy Vance Mountain Resort.

My petition is asking my local government to raise our SSI payment. $733 is not enough money to survive on. That's less than $9000 a year. Please raise SSI payments to $2,000-$2,500 a month. That's still less than what the physically disabled deserve. We can't work, but we still need money so that we can live comfortably. Our lives are already stressful enough. We shouldn't have to worry about income as well.

Improve the safety of our community.

We, the citizens, residents, tax-payers, and voters of the City of Northport, propose that the City of Northport recognize and dedicate the land surrounding the Northport Community Center, playground, park, and the current site of the Northport Heritage Museum as a dedicated Community Park, open space, greenbelt, protected from future development for the continued use and good of the community. We propose that the land at the convergence of Park Street and Lurleen Wallace Blvd/AL Hwy 69 owned by the City of Northport, remain as a city-owned and dedicated community park, open space greenbelt as a welcoming and inviting entry point into the City of Northport, for use as park and recreation land by citizens and visitors. 1. Community Park – A larger park designed for use by the residents of the entire city. A Community Park will have various general use facilities including playground equipment, picnic areas and shelters, and/or special use facilities. 2. Open Space – an open piece of land that provides development breaks and is accessible to the public. Open space can include: Green space, land that is partly or completely covered with grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation. 3. Greenbelts – an area of open land around a city, on which building is restricted. We, the citizens of the City of Northport, propose that the current site of the Northport Heritage Museum be dedicated as the permanent site for the Northport Heritage Museum, to remain as it is today, as a welcoming site upon entry to the City of Northport, representing the City of Northport’s heritage, history, and identity. We, the citizens of the City of Northport, have an interest in smart growth for our city that includes preserving open space greenbelts that make the City of Northport a high-quality place to live and do business.

Homeless is rampant in Snohomish County, Washington. While there are minimal efforts to address the causes and provide housing to the homeless, such efforts are underfunded and small in scope. The ACLU of Washington and Seattle University School of Law's Homeless Rights Advocacy Project sent the Mayor and Council members a letter urging them to reject the proposed amendments, calling them "unconstitutional, ineffective, and unnecessarily costly and punitive." Let's try to solve poverty, not just lock up the symptoms. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20151028/NEWS01/151028970

D.C. recently announced a proposal to redevelop the Park Morton public housing community at the Bruce Monroe Park in the Park View neighborhood in NW D.C. The community can't afford to lose Bruce Monroe Park. The park includes basketball courts, tennis courts, a playground, a pavilion, a dog run and a community garden. The park is highly used and loved by the whole neighborhood. This is not an issue of choosing Park Morton redevelopment OR keeping the Bruce Monroe Community Park. There are alternative options to redevelop Park Morton and keep Bruce Monroe Community Park. For example, the old Hebrew Home site is close to Park Morton and has key qualifications, like close proximity to a school and rec center as well as public transportation, grocery stores, a public library, and more. Another option would be to develop a number of the smaller and abandoned properties on Georgia Ave instead. The city of D.C. should: 1. Meet Park Morton families’ immediate needs now. 2. Take Bruce Monroe Park off the table as a first build site. 3. Reconsider alternative sites like the Hebrew Home site or additional options along the Georgia Ave. corridor. Everyone deserves open space to play in, feel the sun on our faces, and talk with our neighbors. We should use this as an opportunity to build a stronger neighborhood.

Our neighborhood has seen an uptick in suspicious activity, including car and home break-ins and people casing lots. Residents no longer feel safe walking on the street after dark given the lack of lighting.