 |
|
|
IAVA needs your help to support veterans. |
|
|
|
|
It’s estimated that 22 American military veterans die by suicide every day. That’s nearly one every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month. That’s over 8,000 veterans every year. That number almost included Kris Goldsmith, pictured above. Kris is an Army vet from Long Island. He deployed to Iraq in 2005, where he went on more than 300 missions. Kris left the Army in 2007 with a “general discharge” after he attempted to take his own life. Kris’s “less-than-honorable” discharge status made him ineligible for the GI Bill and was unemployable for two years. But thanks to strong support and personal courage, Kris made it through. And not only is he surviving, he’s thriving. He is recovering from PTSD and attending Nassau Community College – where he’s president of the student veterans group. He’s a survivor. Now he wants to save others, and he needs your help. This week, Kris and more than 30 veterans of IAVA are in DC telling Congress that the time has come to take real steps to help those in crisis. IAVA is the first and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. We’re asking Congress to increase funding for mental health providers, ensure a smooth health care transition for veterans when they leave the military, and spread awareness to ensure everyone knows that it’s ok to ask for help. We need you to help fund this trip and all the work that comes after. Will you join our fight by donating $25 to help end veteran suicide? Even one veteran taking their own life is one too many. Your support can help save the lives of people who have shown exceptional bravery for our country. We can’t do it alone. Will you stand with IAVA’s member veterans as they storm Capitol Hill by donating $25? Thank you for showing veterans across the country that you’ve got their back. Sincerely, Paul Rieckhoff |
Tag Archives: United States
Tell Governor Inslee: Stop food stamp cuts in Washington
Please Call Gov. Inslee 360-902-4111
Last month, President Obama signed a new “farm bill” that cuts food stamp funding by about $800 million per year. These heartless cuts – which Republicans forced through in Congress – slash $90 in food stamp benefits per month from 850,000 families nationwide.
Fortunately, a bipartisan group of governors in six states have found a way to reverse these devastating cuts by participating in a special “heat and eat” program, which leverages heating assistance payments into higher food stamp benefits.1 Governor Inslee can stop the cuts to the food stamp program in Washington, but it is going to take grassroots pressure to make that happen.
CREDO activist Heather Magrath started a campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. The petition, which is to Governor Inslee, asks the following:
Nearly a million Americans are on the verge of losing $90 per month in food stamps benefits. I urge you to sign an executive order increasing heating assistance subsidies to prevent thousands of Washington families from losing access to food stamps.
Sign the petition: Tell Governor Inslee to stop the food stamp cuts in Washington.
$90 per month may not seem like much, but for families in Washington who are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, the recent cuts to the food stamp program can be devastating.
By slightly increasing state funding for heating assistance to residents slated to lose part of their food stamp benefits, governors in six states have completely stopped the Republican food stamp cut from affecting residents in their states.
With unemployment still unacceptably high and millions of families struggling to get by, we need to do everything in our power to stop the Republicans’ irresponsible attempts to slash our social safety net. Governor Inslee needs to follow the lead of these governors and prevent thousands of Washington residents from losing $90 each month in food stamp benefits.
Thanks for fighting to stop food stamp cuts in Washington.
Murshed Zaheed, Deputy Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. “Republican Governor Will Protect His State’s Residents From Food Stamp Cuts,” Think Progress, March 6, 2014
Share this:
6 Surprising Facts about the Minimum Wage
4 Big Reasons to Celebrate the Affordable Care Act Turning 4
March 23rd, marks the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act. Since its enactment, millions of Americans have benefited from the law. Here are just four of the reasons we have to celebrate today.
1. 5 million people covered: Since October 1, more than 5 million people have signed up for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
2. Bending the cost curve: We’ve held down national spending growth in health care to the slowest rate in a half century.
3. Free preventive care: Today, most health plans have to cover recommended preventive services free of charge, benefiting 71 million Americans.
4. Strengthening Medicare: Today, the Medicare program is stronger than ever. Since enactment of the Affordable Care Act, 7.9 million seniors and people with disabilities have saved $9.9 billion on prescription drugs, or an average of $1,265 per beneficiary.
Let’s celebrate millions more covered in 2014. If you know someone who’s uninsured, tell them to sign up today, before the March 31 deadline.
Go to HealthCare.gov (which is working smoothly), or call 1-800-318-2596 (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). You can even get in-person help in your own community (just visit localhelp.healthcare.gov and punch in your zip code).
Share this:
Sofia’s nightmare
 |
Approve request for Humanitarian Parole for Anastasiya “Sofia” Petrova (Case #MSC1499990791) |
|
|
At age 15, Anastasiya “Sofia” Petrova was banished to Siberia by her mother and step-father. Not only was she deceived into traveling to Siberia, she was mislead into thinking she would return in a couple of weeks. Upon arriving there, her nightmare began. She was told there were no travel papers to return to the US and she needed to live with her biological father who did not speak English and whom she had never met before. It turns out her biological father was not equipped to care for her – and given Sofia has limited Russian language skills and no permanent residence, she is at great risk. Sofia dreams of completing her education in the US where she lived from age 2-15 and where she attended high school. Sofia needs to return home. With USCIS’ approval of her application for Humanitarian Parole, Sofia can at least travel to the US temporarily. Your support of this petition will let USCIS know that Sofia has so many supporters in the US who care about her future.
Be a Seed for Change 
You must be logged in to post a comment.