MVOC travels to Washington, D.C. with more the 500 community leaders from across Ohio to fight for Health Care Reform
Youngstown, OH--On June 25, 2009, The Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative (MVOC), eleven bus loads of Ohio residents, US Senator Sherrod Brown, US Congressman Tim Ryan, joined over 10,000 other Americans on Capital Hill to fight for health care reform.
Senator Brown told over 10,000 Health Care for America Now rally participants, who were gathered in Upper Senate Park, "Let me assure you that the special interests and health insurance industry will not hijack this process. We must have a strong public option and we will have a strong public option." After his speech, he met with key community leaders from Ohio, including Katrina Foster, a leader with the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative (MVOC) from Union Baptist Church.
Mrs. Foster stated that the Senators' reaffirmation of his commitment to continue to work with MVOC to fight for health care reform is critical during this moment. Foster said, "We cannot let another year go by without health care reform--that is why grassroots people are organizing to be heard."
Later that afternoon, MVOC helped lead a Town Hall meeting of over 300 Ohio residents, where Congressman Ryan was the keynote speaker. Hattie Wilkins, a member of MVOC and a 35-year member of the Steelworker's union, spoke at the rally and said a Public Plan is the only thing that will keep her from entering bankruptcy.
She lost her job and is entering her last month of unemployment. Hattie has high blood pressure and is required to take daily medications. Since she has a pre-existing condition, she had no choice but to continue her health care coverage through COBRA. "I have given the facory the best years of my life, now here I am spending almost half of my unemployment on health care premiums, watching my life savings dwindle and stressing over what I'm going to do," says Wilkins. "I'm 58 and living in a city with an unemployment rate of over 14 percent." She asks the question, "How do I continue to survive, pay my mortage, pay my bills, and get my blood pressure medicine without proper healthcare...I just can't afford it. Where is the dignity in that?"
The Congressman talked about how it is not cost effective, nor is it sustainable, for so many of our people to rely on emergency room visits as the main source of health care. Congressman Ryan said, "A public plan option as a part of health care reform is what we need and we need it now!"
The Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative (MVOC) is a broad-based community organization initive established in March of 2008. The primary focus of the MVOC is to unite groups throughout the community (churches, neighborhood groups, schools, social service agencies, nonprofits ect.) to work together to increase the quality of of life in urban neighborhoods in the Cities of Youngstown and Warren, Ohio. For more infromation please visit www.mvorganizing.org.
Contact: Tammy Thomas tammy@mvorganizing.org
