Media Advisory Contact: Stella Kim 213- 700-6276 FOR SATURDAY January 23, 2010
Health Care Supporters To Rally For Finishing Reform Now And Finishing It Right
California Residents Demonstrate Need For Good, Affordable Health Care Still Urgent
Los Angeles, California – California Partnership, Health Access, and many community members and organizations as part of Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the nation’s largest health care campaign – will take to the streets in a press conference and rally to tell the California congressional delegation that the demand for passing comprehensive health care reform legislation is as strong as ever, near the Los Angeles County/USC Hospital on Saturday January 23rd at 11:00 AM
In the wake of the Massachusetts’ special election on Tuesday, speculation looms over the fate of health care reform. “The Massachusetts election was about voter frustration with the economy, unemployment and other issues. They already have affordable health care. But the need for good, affordable health care for everyone in California and the nation is the same today as it was before Tuesday’s vote,” said Mari Lopez from the California Partnership, an HCAN partner.
On Saturday, reform supporters and organizers will rally at a local clinic to show every member of Congress that the people of California want more change, not less. They will deliver a message that Congress must continue their work and finish health care reform right. “People in California still need quality affordable health coverage that won’t deny them for pre-existing conditions, or force them into bankruptcy should they need to use it for major medical treatment,” stated Ms. Lopez .
WHO: Community members, providers, patients, community organizations, and representatives from local Congressional offices
WHAT: Press Conference and Rally with Street Performance. Community members, providers, nurses, and victims of the insurance industry will gather at clinic to push Congress to finish health care reform right and finish it soon
WHERE: Clinica Romero, 2032 Marengo St., Los Angeles, CA 90033 WHEN: Saturday January 23rd at 11:00 AM VISUALS: Dozens of Los Angeles community members performing street theatre to illustrate abuses by insurance companies and why health care reform efforts are needed to be to assure affordable, secure health coverage for all.
For Immediate Release CONTACT: January 8, 2009 Astrid Campos, 213-407-5840
California Needs a ‘Family Recovery Plan’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – California’s working families and communities demand a state budget that creates jobs, provides safety net and brings home federal dollars.
California’s budget crisis has devastated its people in a time of economic downturn and hardship. As the country faces one of the worst economic recessions in decades, massive cuts to California’s safety net have closed community clinics throughout the state, denied HIV/AIDS patients to affordable medications, raised state university tuition 30%, and wait-listed low-income children for access to Healthy Families.
These are not the only effects felt by working families throughout the state, and on January 8th, 2010, dozens of local seniors, people with disabilities, and community members gathered in front of the Guinness World Records Museum to call on state leaders to make sure that this year, California’s budget includes a “Family Recovery Plan.”
The diverse crowd, accompanied by the beat of Korean drummers, gathered in front of Governor Schwarzenegger’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is ironically situated right in front of the Guinness World Records Museum. The Governor is a record breaker, setting records of high deficits and continuing structural budget crises. Furthermore, he has made the worst cuts in California’s history to services and programs for children, seniors, students, people with disabilities and HIV/AIDS, domestic violence victims, and community health clinics.
"It's a struggle to support my family on $570 a month--the governor's budget will shred what little is left of our state's safety net and put me and my family on the streets," said Natalia Rios, a CalWORKS mother who is doubly affected by the rising costs of tuition as she studies to obtain her teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach.
Cuts alone cannot be the solution to the state’s budget crisis. Families looking for real solutions held signs saying “How will I learn without a teacher?”, and “30,000 children will lose CalWORKs Assistance,” demanded a recovery that did not discount their lives and contributions.
“The Governor’s track record has been a series of broken promises that has left the state on the brink of disaster. Now more than ever we need a state budget that puts families first, a real recovery plan that creates jobs and provides a strong safety net to help Californians get through these tough economic times,” said Nancy Berlin, Director of the California Partnership, a statewide coalition of community groups working to fight poverty.
Through a Family Recovery Plan, California could help alleviate the pressures on working families by creating jobs, as well as investing in programs and services, such as child care, adult day care and other vital programs that will help California’s families get back to work and back on their feet.
But the reality of this difficult economic climate means that we have to acknowledge that unemployment isn’t just going to go away. That’s why California needs to ensure that a strong safety net is there when jobs aren’t, or can’t be created in the near future, to make sure that those California families who can’t find work have what they need to weather this economic storm.
Finally, while facing yet another $20 billion budget deficit, California can’t afford to pass up on millions of Federal dollars that would help put the state back on the road to recovery. This includes an effort to:
- Raise our lowest-in-the-nation rate of Food Stamp usage - Help families access Earned Income Tax Credit, TANF benefits, Health Insurance and other federally funded assistance - Promote smart “matching” at the state level to draw down hundreds of millions of Federal dollars
This action was a part of a series of coordinated events held throughout the state in Santa Cruz, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Fresno, Modesto, San Diego, and Bakersfield.
This event is being organized by the Stop the Cuts! Coalition and the California Partnership, which includes organizations such as the ACLU of Southern California, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes, LIFETIME, Youth Justice Coalition, Planned Parenthood-LA, Maternal & Child, Health Access, SEIU 721, Aids Project LA, Asian Pacific America Legal Center, Coalition LA, Clinica Romero, Community Voices, Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, California Faculty Association, CALIF, Southern California Rehabilitation Services, Community Clinic Association of Southern California, Korean Resource Center, CHIRLA, Whittier Peace, AMANECER, SEIU 99, Community Health Councils, Health Access, CURB, and many more...