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Reversing Inequality Conference April 3-5 2017 in Washington DC

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Healthcare Justice is a UU Value. 

The Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) and the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) hosted a three-day conference for UUs to learn and share best practices for healthcare justice and advocacy in Washington DC. Our partnership enabled UU’s to get involved with the latest campaigns against inequality, and visit lawmakers to influence positive change. UU’s from 16 different states traveled to DC to gather in solidarity and defense of disenfranchised and marginalized members of our national community. We challenged lawmakers on the pernicious impacts healthcare repeal would have for America’s most vulnerable populations.   

Dynamic speakers joined us to share the latest policy initiatives and grassroots efforts, including Chuck Collins, Sister Simone Campbell, Bishop Douglas Miles and Reverend Graylan Hagler. The attack on healthcare accessibility by the Trump administration is an economic issue AND a health issue, and would weaken our communities, especially those already marginalized by discrimination in education, housing, and employment. We learned from National Nurses United, Americans for Tax Fairness, the United Steelworkers, NETWORK and FCNL how important the voice of the faith community is to have in this conversation, as Congress considers a policy decision with devastating consequences, financially and morally.

Ami Bera, the lone UU in Congress, shared his perspective with us, as a UU, as a doctor and as a Member of Congress. He ran an exercise to demonstrate the relationship between healthcare affordability and resource allocation in our economy. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal offered her insight on healthcare activism and the road ahead. She underscored the societal impacts of having a large population of underinsured and uninsured Americans. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



UUSJ 's Pablo DeJesus, Rep. Bera and UUJEC's Rachel Bennett Steury.

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UU’s spent Wednesday in the halls of Congress, meeting with elected officials as the Trump Administration worked to bring new life to repealing and replacing the ACA. Those who were unable to attend, shared their feelings on the healthcare debate by writing letters to their Senators, which were hand delivered by participants of this conference. Twenty-one congregations from across the country helped to amplify the voices of UU’s by participating in letter writing campaigns back home. 

For UUJEC and UUSJ there's too much at stake for us to remain on the sidelines. Silence perpetuates and exacerbates unneeded inequalities in our society, the brunt of which are born by underemployed and struggling households, but whose ill effects touch every American.  Our partnership and advocacy will continue as we find it necessary to be that strong, collective voice in inequality discussions at the national level. 

Thank you to UUJEC/UUSJ staff and volunteers who helped make this conference possible and our participants, for their energy, their know-how and their commitment to social justice. Thank you to the UU Funding Panel, UU Fellowship of Door County, Wisconsin (UUFDC) and our Faithify donors for their generosity. #ReversingInequality would not have been possible otherwise. 

               You can review our agenda highlights here and our speaker bios here.

Resource Guide for Activism at Home available here. 

Thank you for helping us reach our Faithify Campaign goal!   

Why Focus on Healthcare Justice?

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Washington DC Lodging: UUJEC Tips

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