At a rally, it is the handmade sign that speaks most eloquently and to the heart of the matter. When someone takes the time to express themselves in their own words and create a sign it is an indication of the passion that they feel.
Sexual Assault Services ARE Critical Services
We forget, how many non profit and small community-based programs, such as sexual assault counseling and battered women homes there are throughout the state. We forget that the women and some men that need these services, it can be a matter of life and death.
Harming Countless Minnesotans Is NOT OK!
For the secure Minnesotan, the government shutdown may create a slight inconvenience: no state rest stops on the highway, no state park camping, no fishing or boating licenses. These are irritating but not life threatening. However for less secure Minnesotans: the lack of mass transit will mean potential loss of a job, buying gas for the car rather than medicine or clothes, longer commutes and less time with family. With Workforce Centers closed important resources, such access to computers, comprehensive job listings, assistance from job counselors disappear and the unemployed are put at an even greater disadvantage during these hard times. In addition, individuals and families experience much greater stress and stress related diseases. But with the state shutdown the help they need to weather the crisis is unavailable: they plunge deeper into personal ruin. Recovering economically will take years if it is possible at all. Some people will never recover from this shutdown.
Invest in Minnesota Health Care
The state shutdown effects the 140,000 Minnesotans that are already on state health care programs. With businesses slowing down due to lost work on government projects, such as highway and bridge construction, and 22,000 state employees temporarily out of work, many more people will need help with health care costs. More Minnesotans will be pushed to a lower economic level out of which they may not be able to climb.
The faces and signs tell the stories of our fellow citizens and call on our consciences to act.