Share your smiles, compliments, time, talents, money, and energy with those around you. We must truly be the change that we want to see. And we can do it. We are doing it. Believe that the future is full of mindfulness where hearts mean more than our accounts.
The Love Initiative.
Notes From the Road – Bright Lights Blog
http://troubadourofpeace.blogspot.com/
Book a house concert or music for a yoga class today!!
TOUR DATES
| Date | Time | Venue | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/22/18 | 3:00 PM | Choices | Akron, OH | |
| 3/22/18 | 6:00 PM | Tea Time for Peace | Kent, OH | |
| 3/23/18 | 5:00 PM | Friends of the Metro Parks Benefit w/ the Bright Lights | Akron, OH | |
| 3/27/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
| 3/30/18 | 6:30 PM | 330 Day @ Akron Civic Theatre | Akron, OH | |
| 3/31/18 | 10:30 AM | Celebration of Life for Marilyn Stroud | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | |
| 4/3/18 | 6:30 PM | MLK Kirtan | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 4/4/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Circle | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 4/6/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Rhodes St Rude Boys | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
| 4/7/18 | 8:30 PM | Mustard Seed Highland Square w/ Bright Lights! | Akron, OH | |
| 4/10/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
| 4/16/18 | 7:00 PM | Wolf Creek Winery | Norton, OH | |
| 4/21/18 | 6:30 PM | Bright Lights @ the Rialto | Akron, OH | $5 |
| 4/22/18 | 4:00 PM | Yoga Central | Canton, OH | |
| 4/28/18 | 7:00 PM | Wine Mill | Peninsula, OH | |
| 5/2/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Series | Akron, OH | Donations |
| 5/4/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Gretchen Pleuss | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
| 5/5/18 | 12:00 PM | Cleveland VegFest | Cleveland, OH | |
| 5/5/18 | 6:00 PM | Bent Ladder winery | Doylestown , OH | |
| 5/8/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH |
Early Childhood Education and Public Charge
November 7 at 3:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT – 1:00 PM PT)
On October 10, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was published in the Federal Register, outlining the administration’s intent to dramatically change the meaning and application of “public charge” provisions in immigration law. This proposal could harm the health and well-being of millions of children and families and is of great concern for young children’s development and the early childhood field as outlined in this Q&A. Staff at the Center for Law and Social Policy will provide an overview of the proposed public charge rule, its potential impact on young children, and explain how the early childhood field can support immigrant families and take action during the public comment period.
What Housing and Homelessness Advocates Should Know about the Public Charge Rule
November 8 @ 3:30 PM ET – 5:00 PM ET (12:30 PM PT – 2:00 PM PT)
On October 10, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule that would make it more likely for certain immigrants to be denied admission to the U.S. or denied green cards because they receive or would receive lifeline benefits, including public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and project-based Section 8 housing subsidies. Previously leaked drafts of this drastic policy change have already led many families to drop out of critical food and nutrition programs for their children. This chilling effect is poised to impact hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrant households that depend on these programs for survival.
PIF Campaign: New Research and Estimating the Impact of Public Charge
November 8 @ 3:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT -1:00 PM PT)
Join partners with the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Campaign as we discuss new research estimating economic and demographic impacts of the proposed public charge rule. During this webinar, panelists will present the findings of three new resources from Manatt Health, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Fiscal Policy Institute. For more information about the webinar, please contact Jackie Vimo and Renato Rocha.
PIF Campaign: Public Charge 101
November 14 @ 2:00 PM ET – 3:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT -12:00 PM PT)
A recurring webinar from CLASP and NILC. The Department of Homeland Security has published a proposed regulation on “public charge.” If finalized, the regulation would dramatically rewrite immigration policy and make green cards only available to the highest bidder. This webinar describes public charge policy today, how it would change, and what you need to know if you work with immigrant families.
For more info: bit.ly/askPIFcampaign
AURA HOME WOMEN VETS
50 South French Broad Avenue
Suite 203
Asheville NC 28801
828-771-6979
http://aurahomewomenvets.org
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Prem Rawat Foundation Supports Veterans With Peace Education Program
This article is also available in: French
For too many veterans, finding an enduring sense of peace remains elusive long after they return from war. They often face immense challenges as they transition to civilian life, from trauma disorders to unemployment and homelessness.
Thankfully, November 11 marks an occasion to honor their service and support solutions that can improve their lives. The date is Veterans Day in the United States, and in many other countries it is called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.
A growing number of veterans say the Peace Education Program is a solution that gives them the tools they need to harness their own inner-strength and overcome their obstacles. The program’s workshops feature videos of Prem Rawat’s empowering international talks on themes such as dignity, choice and hope.
“The Peace Education Program tries only to achieve one simple thing: it’s to put you in touch with yourself,” says Rawat.
While the goal is simple, the impact was profound for Alyce Knaflich, a veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress, depression and homelessness for 10 years. She credits PEP with giving her the confidence to now work as the executive director of Aura Home Women Vets, a charity in Asheville, NC that provides housing and support to homeless women veterans.
Veteran Alyce Knaflich shares her story in this video.
“I was lost. Prem Rawat and his message in the program, it brought me home. And my home is my heart. Peace starts on the inside,” says Knaflich.
She has incorporated the Peace Education Program into Aura Home’s services to help her clients have the same enriching experience that she did.
“Prem’s message will help them heal their emotional stress, and ease the transition of coming out of the military and trying to find a new career path. It will help them center themselves and bring out their confidence,” says Knaflich.
Our next Community Conversation will be on
Thursday, July 18
9:00 – 10:30 am PST / 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST
The terrible issue of immigrant children detained at the U.S. border
The United States of America has, since its inception, been a country formed by immigrants. Yet now, at our southern border particularly, thousands of people leaving their home countries are requesting asylum or entrance and are being held in detention centers and processed very slowly. Meanwhile, the immigrating families are being separated and the children held in cells – cages in many cases – without adequate sanitation or bedding, without adequate nutrition and without access to their parents or adult relatives. In spite of legal and popular objection this problem has continued and continued to worsen for over a year under the Trump administration.
Is the description above adequate to define this problem? What are some of the underlying causes of the problem and what can or should be done instead? What actions can we take to effect those changes?
Looking at this issue through your social justice and elder lenses, please read the materials suggested below, focus your attention on this issue in other news you read and conversations you hear, then bring your thoughts on the subject to our conversation July 18th.
In our Community Conversations we draw on the experience and wisdom of our group to better understand the critical issues we are facing and discern what actions we would want to take as elders in our society today. We offer moral support for each other as we grapple with the issues and challenges of our times and discern how to best support the activism that we are each engaged in.
Resources:
Letter from Santa Fe Dreamers:
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We know that you have all been reading and watching the absolutely horrific news unfold about the conditions of detention on the border. We know that many of you feel scared, frustrated, angry, and powerless by the way that our government is treating vulnerable people, especially children. We are writing today with information and direction towards action but also to urge you not to feel powerless. We are always capable of making change through our collective power. Of course this requires courage, stamina, and an intelligent, disciplined, and organized theory of change. It will not be easy. We encourage you to turn away from despair and towards this place of collective power knowing that it will test you. We will be with you the whole way. Below you will find some ideas for inspiration.
Love,
Your friends at Santa Fe Dreamers Project
- Educate yourself: Here at SFDP this is always our number one piece of advice. The more you know, the fiercer you will be as an advocate and a voter. There are plenty of explosive news articles to read but here are a few that we have learned from recently: We suggested this piece in our last newsletter but if you haven’t had a chance to read it we highly suggest Dara Lind’s “The Border is in Crisis. Here’s How it Got This Bad”. The New Yorker ran an incredibly thought provoking piece written by a historian about “The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camp”. Again from the New Yorker, a report from the lawyers who were recently allowed in to inspect a children’s facility in Clint, TX, “Inside a Building in Texas where Government is Holding Immigrant Children”. Another really important thing to learn about (and something that is not highlighted enough in the news) is the Migrant Protection Protocol or MPP program that has currently turned thousands of thousands of migrants around at the US border to wait in Mexico. This is an excruciatingly dangerous policy that is threatening the lives of migrant families day after day.
- Understand that this cruelty is not new and these tactics did not just begin. In fact, the Obama administration reignited the practice of family detention in 2014. One of the reasons this summer feels so out of control is because the sheer numbers of people asking for asylum are so high. The Obama and now Trump administrations’ policies attempted to deter migrants through punishment, suffering, and torture but their success was dependent on the flow of migrants actually stopping. Now that the numbers are so high, these cruel and failed policies have now turned deadly.
- Engage with politicians: Here is the thing: The Trump administration cannot be swayed with moral arguments or blame. They are doing this on purpose. One way of thinking about engaging with politicians is to remember that Congress has the power of the purse and is funding this enforcement regime. One theory is that we can defund ICE and CBP and redirect that money to agencies or NGO’s that are capable of handling a humanitarian crisis of this scope and are not killing people for political motive. This means we have to pressure progressives and democrats and republicans with a conscience to do more than just signal compassion for immigrants. We need these leaders to articulate how they are going to disempower the Trump Administration and make sure it is part of the work they are doing to secure our votes. We can and must demand courageous leadership from our Senators and Representatives and that their actions reflect our deep desire to end the state sponsored violence on the border.
- How to respond to the threat of ICE raids: Trump’s twitter threat for a massive enforcement action last week was credible and achieved its purpose of scaring the shit out of immigrant and refugee communities all over the US. While it has been “delayed”, now is a wise time for communities to get organized. The American Friends Service Committee published this resource about how allies can support their immigrant and refugee neighbors during this time. Here is the ACLU’s guide to knowing your rights during ICE encounters and we suggest exploring it. Santa Fe Dreamers will be holding walk in hours for people to help families with power of attorney and family prep plans every Friday in Santa Fe from 1-5 at our 1213 Mercantile Rd office. If you work with concerned families let them know about this resource.
- Actions happening in NM: There is a lot of talk about national protests to close concentration camps on July 12. One of the organizations that is involved with planning this is called Lights of Liberty. Their Facebook page is a source of info– although we don’t have much info yet about that organization. We are talking with folks in NM about planning more locally focused actions and as soon as we have more details we will announce it. Choose your social media of choice or keep reading our emails to stay in touch.
- Where to donate: Of course here at Santa Fe Dreamers Project we use your donations to protect vulnerable immigrants and refugees in a million different ways every day. Specifically, we need more help on the border. We just rented a much larger office space in El Paso for our expanding team there and are raising funds for a legal assistant so we can have greater impact in the borderlands. You can donate to that effort here. Write border in the note! We are grateful for any help you can give putting this donation link out there into the universe. For those of you wondering where else it might be useful to donate here is our list of several grassroots legal organizations that we know are having impact (we also know we have left many out!)
- And finally an offer of poetry from our director, Allegra, who likes to contemplate what this particular poem is trying to teach us when thinking about the horrors we witness:
Now you know the worst
By Wendell Berry
To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum on the day of the burial of Yitzhak Rabin
Now you know the worst
we humans have to know
about ourselves, and I am sorry,
for I know that you will be afraid.
To those of our bodies given
without pity to be burned, I know
there is no answer
but loving one another,
even our enemies, and this is hard.
But remember:
when a man of war becomes a man of peace,
he gives a light, divine
though it is also human.
When a man of peace is killed
by a man of war, he gives a light.
You do not have to walk in darkness.
If you will have the courage for love,
you may walk in light. It will be
the light of those who have suffered
for peace. It will be
your light.
Regarding Investor Activism:
Here are some groups focused on Social, Environmental and Governance-conscious investing:
- Proxy Impact
- Sustainable Investment Institute
- As You Sow
- Green America (and also: www.greenamerica.org/finance)
And finally, for your research about political donations, money flow and lobbying influence:
How to join the conversation:
We will be using Zoom video conferencing, which is very easy to access by computer or regular telephone. If you choose to use your tablet or smartphone, be sure to download the Zoom app ahead of time. We will be starting each meeting on time so please connect 15 minutes before the call so that the host can help with any technical difficulties or questions you may have. Once the call starts the host will be not be able to help with connection issues. Once you are connected via Zoom you are welcome mute your microphone and turn off your video until just before the meeting starts, or you may enjoy chatting with others in the meeting while you wait.
Instructions and access to Zoom conferencing
To receive email reminders for Elder Activists for Social Justice (EASJ) meetings, monthly community conversations and workshops, please sign up here:
SIGN UP
One simple goal – to make a child feel special.
Beverly’s Birthdays provides birthday cheer for children experiencing homelessness and families in need. We spread birthday cheer 365 days a year. Today, nearly one in four children in the U.S. live at or below the poverty line. In Southwestern PA alone, there are nearly 3,000 school-aged children identified as homeless. Children living in poverty often go without the everyday items that we take for granted. Special milestones, like birthdays, are often overlooked because of their families’ personal/financial circumstances. Beverly’s Birthdays enriches the lives of the children we serve by making sure they are remembered on their special day.
Socially Conscious Leadership from the Inside Out
Our guest this week has come to believe that “No matter how wonderful a program is, if it is done as a bestowing – a certain group of people making decisions for another group – that is never going to bridge the divide in our city.” Does your work fit within this paradigm of “bestowing,” and how do you plant seeds for a deeper mindset or consciousness shift to address underlying structural issues? Share Your Reflection »
Dallas-based therapist, activist, writer, community leader and speaker Michelle Kinder examines and teaches conscious leadership “from the inside out.” She offers practical, achievable steps for parents, teachers and others to support children’s social-emotional health, and for business and other leaders to drive transformation in their lives and organizations. While exploring the lack of mental health resources in southern Dallas, Kinder got to know the work of the Momentous Institute, a 99-year-old Dallas-based nonprofit organization that has been building and repairing social-emotional health through education and mental health programs. Momentous Institute serves vulnerable children through therapy services, curriculum and teacher training focused on See full.
Five Questions for Michelle
What Makes You Come Alive?
Thank you for asking. Learning makes me come alive. Learning combined with contribution has long been a winning formula for me feeling most alive. Over the years I developed the habit of checking in with myself every six months or so with the questions “Am I learning? Am I contributing?” There have been interesting seasons on how the two balance each other. There are times that striving to contribute crowded out the kind of white space by brain needs for deep learning and I have had to course correct. And there have been other times that I was learning a lot, but didn’t feel like I was being a good steward in terms of making a difference for other people or for causes I care about. I should also say that because I am currently in a season of more white space and more time for discernment, increasingly, simple pleasures are what make me come alive. Listening to birds, watching our dogs, yoga, running, sunshine, good coffee and the sound of my girls laughing together. Things like that.
Pivotal turning point in your life?
When I was in High School I left my family in Guatemala and came to the states to attend boarding school. It was a transformational experience. The wonderful faculty there saw qualities in me that they nurtured into leadership and I really learned who I was and what I was capable of during those four years. Interestingly, in my previous school, there were teachers who experienced the exact same qualities as problematic, annoying or something to control. Having that experience has made me very interested in how adults show up in the lives of children in a way that respects the enormous privilege and responsibility. I always say there are no neutral interactions when it comes to our relationships with children – all interactions are either positive, negative or missed opportunities.
An Act of Kindness You’ll Never Forget?
When I was in college, my 24-year-old sister died suddenly and it was an enormous challenge to go back to school while navigating the grief process. Several weeks into it, when people had stopped checking in, I found a card tucked into one of my books. It was from a classmate I knew somewhat, but not super well. It said something like, “I know time has passed but your hurt hasn’t.” I still tear up thinking about that act of kindness. It meant so much and it has shaped my desire to show up for others in similar ways.
One Thing On Your Bucket List?
Have the kind of flexibility to visit different places for a month at a time and work remotely while folding into the local scene.
One-line Message for the World?
Regardless of the situation, if you ever aren’t sure how to be most helpful, regulate your own nervous system.
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Awakin Circles: A hub for local meditation circles that started in the Silicon Valley and have now spread to 80+ cities around the globe. The circle start with an hour of silence, followed by a circle of sharing and dinner in silence. A newsletter with a passage selected from various wisdom traditions and an audio reading is sent out to 87,000 subscribers each week. See also Awakin Calls that hosts weekly conversations with wide-ranging thought leaders.
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ServiceSpace is an organization run entirely by volunteers. We leverage technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service. Our aim is to ignite the fundamental generosity in ourselves and others, creating both inner and outer transformation.
ServiceSpace was conceived by volunteers, was built by volunteers, and is run by volunteers — all for the benefit of volunteers. Our projects range from a daily positive news service, to an acts-of-kindness portal, to a gift-economy restaurant. Regardless of the endeavor, we act in concert to create service opportunities for each other and to support each other’s service journeys.
In September of 2011, we formally changed our name from CharityFocus to ServiceSpace. Founded in 1999, ServiceSpace was originally started to help non-profits with technical services. Over the past dozen years, the organization has become an umbrella for many generosity-driven projects. Thus we have expanded our services from focusing just on helping charities, to encouraging everyday people to contribute in meaningful ways to the world around them. As the name suggests, our new expanded ServiceSpace platform allows people to stay connected with others interested in service, participate in service opportunities through any of our dozen projects, organize their own local service event using our tools, and stay connected to inspirational content. Above all, we believe in the inherent generosity of others and aim to ignite that spirit of service. Through our small, collective acts, we hope to transform ourselves and the world.
We hold these three principles steadfast within our organization:
Stay fully volunteer-run.
ServiceSpace was founded by volunteers and is run by volunteers. There is no paid staff, no office, and no central facilities. All ServiceSpace programs are conceived, designed, implemented, and administered by people who selflessly give their time so that others can benefit from those services.
Based on twelve years of our experience with a volunteer-run infrastructure, we’ve developed a streamlined process that structures projects in a distributed and decentralized manner. This allows more volunteers to give small chunks of time and still deliver high quality services to the end-receiver.
Being volunteer-run also allows us to organically self-organize. Instead of hierarchies and prefabricated business plans, our volunteer infrastructure is dynamic, low-cost and open to radical change. Everything is based on relationships and presence, and that creates a powerful context to BE the change.
We continue to be amazed at what inspired and dedicated individuals can do. Margaret Mead eloquently said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” We could not agree more.
Serve with whatever we have.
We have chosen a slightly different path than most organizations, and choose not to focus on fundraising, grants, or other sources of revenue – for example, none of our websites contain any advertisement. All services are distributed are gifted without any fees. Thus, we serve with whatever support and resources that come in organically when people are truly moved to give.
ServiceSpace projects are built within a gift-economy system, an economic system in which goods and services are given freely, rather than traded. In a traditional market economy, one’s wealth is increased by saving. In a gift economy, giving leads to increase: an increase in connections and relationship strength.
Our services are given freely, without asking for anything in return. Instead of scarcity and fear for an uncertain future, our second principle roots us in abundance and trust. We have realized that over time, if you serve with pure intentions, people’s cups of gratitude overflow. They don’t give to fulfill a need, they give as an expression of their own solidarity and joy. These genuine gifts, no matter how small or large, are what sustains us.
Focus on the small.
Our attempt is to do “small acts with great love”. As our tagline says, “Change Yourself, Change the World.” If we started out by having a goal to change the world, we might have been a little disappointed in our abilities; when we start with ourselves, we notice that the ripples around us continue to get bigger and bigger and as more people try to do small acts, we have every potential to change the world.
Just as every tiny bit of a hologram contains information of the whole, we feel that paying attention to the process, to the present moment, gives us plenty of information to become instruments of a larger, systemic change.
This is how ServiceSpace makes things happen. But essentially the engine that drives the organization is inspiration, pure and simple. We learn from each other, spur each other, help each other, and frequently amaze each other. Sure, we are stirred by the words and lives of great men and women like Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa; but the examples set by our ServiceSpace colleagues–everyday heroes–are the real sustaining forces behind our projects.
Take Action on National Refugee Shabbat
National Refugee Shabbat 5780, which will take place on March 20-21, 2020, is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals around the country to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers.
Register: Learn more about how your community or group can participate at hias.org/nrs – it’s not too late!
There are also many ways individuals can take action for refugees and asylum seekers in the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, as well as on the actual Shabbat itself (in accordance with individual Shabbat practice). Feel free to share the list below widely with family and friends.
12 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION THIS NATIONAL REFUGEE SHABBAT
1. Advocate – Call your Member of Congress to ask them to stand for the rights, safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers.
2. Get Involved in the Election – Research the candidates running in local elections in your area, and let them know that the rights of refugees and asylum seekers are among your top priority issues this year.
3. Update Your Facebook Photo Frame – Show your support for refugees by updating your Facebook profile picture with the HIAS #JewsforRefugees frame. Click here for directions.
4. Join the “Jews for Refugees” Facebook Group – Joining this group is a great way to connect with thousands of other committed individuals across the country, access up-to-the-minute information about the Jewish response to the refugee crisis, and share the actions that you are taking. Click here to join.
5. Donate Your Miles to Asylum Seekers – HIAS has partnered with Miles4Migrants (M4M), a nonprofit charity dedicated to using donated frequent flyer miles and money for the relocation of refugees and those seeking asylum – including families recently separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. HIAS and Miles4Migrants (M4M) will work to identify refugees and asylum seekers who need assistance purchasing airfare to reunite with their families. Donate your frequent flyer miles here the week of National Refugee Shabbat.
6. Buy Refugee-Produced Goods – Support refugees and asylum seekers around the world and in your local community by buying refugee-produced goods and/or researching refugee-owned restaurants in your community and having a meal there. Check out this website to purchase goods made by a collective of African asylum-seeking women living in Tel Aviv, Israel.
7. Give Life to Refugees and Asylum Seekers – In the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, set up a Facebook fundraiser to benefit HIAS’ work.
8. Scholarships for Displaced Students – Research whether your local universities and colleges offer scholarships to refugees and asylum seekers. If not, reach out and ask them to consider starting such a program. Check out Columbia University’s program for an example.
9. Have A Difficult Conversation – Using the HIAS Conversational Guide for How to Talk About Refugees with Family and Friends, commit to having at least one conversation with someone in your life who has expressed concern about welcoming refugees to the United States or even someone who has made disparaging remarks about refugees or asylum seekers.
10. Light Shabbat Candles with Intention – As you welcome Shabbat on March 20, use this reading before lighting Shabbat candles to set an intention to stand with refugees and asylum seekers around the globe.
11. Host A Gathering In Your Home – Invite a small group of friends over to your home for Shabbat dinner or lunch or a havdallah (the ceremony for closing Shabbat) wine and cheese gathering. At the gathering, consider using the HIAS National Refugee Shabbat 5780-2020 Programming Content Resource. Use the text study on page 6 of this guide as a jumping off point for conversation, take a look at and discuss the refugee art on page 13 of this guide, or screen the movie suggested on page 14 and 15 of this guide.
12. Start A Book Club – Start a book club – for adults or young people – to read books by and about refugees and asylum seekers. Use this list as a jumping off point for suggestions or search google for even more ideas.
From Indigenous New England
 https://indigenous.boston |
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Oscar winner Wes Studi launched a new PSA raising awareness about the seriousness of COVID-19 in Indian Country. (courtesy photo)
ADDISON, Texas — From small-town Oklahoma native to internationally acclaimed actor and musician, Wes Studi forever changed a stereotype with his unforgettable performances in Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat and Avatar.
Now, he’s working on another mission.
Yesterday, the Cherokee citizen and legendary film star released a public service announcement (PSA) to raise awareness of the serious effects of COVID-19 in Indian Country and request widespread support for Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) to ensure Native Americans are not left behind during the pandemic.
What sparked the PSA is a series of vital health issues happening in the wake of COVID-19, even with many stay-at-home orders in place. The risk of contracting the virus is higher among Native Americans due to overcrowded housing and high rates of diabetes, kidney disease and asthma. And despite more than 7,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the Navajo Nation and other tribal communities, federal aid has been slow to arrive.
In his new PSA, the Oscar winner reminds the public of the need for immediate attention and charitable donations to PWNA, which has secured tribal clearances and follows CDC and tribal guidelines to continue delivering critical items, such as food, water, sanitizer and personal protective equipment (PPE).
For more information on the PSA, and to learn how to donate, visit NativePartnership.org/
“Every day, remote reservation communities face shortages of food, water and healthcare, and COVID-19 has magnified that reality,” said Joshua Arce, PWNA president and CEO. “Donations are critical now as we bring relief to under-resourced communities.”
Studi notes PWNA is a nonprofit he trusts. In 2019, they collaborated in a five-part Realities Video Series with Wes Studi that aimed to give an accurate portrayal of reservation life and dispels long-held myths that continue to impact Native communities.
The post Legendary Actor Wes Studi Urges the Public to Assist Indian Country Amid Pandemic appeared first on Native News Online.
