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300 Gather to Pray for Healthcare Reform | August 2, 2009
At our county-wide prayer vigil, 7 clergy offered prayers for just health reform at the local, state, and national levels. Over 200 community members were present, as well as Congressional Representative Loretta Sanchez. The vigil was captured on many local TV stations and print media. As part of a national effort to reform health care, our main message is the importance of an affordability standard. Our view is that, if health care is mandated, then it must be affordable for ALL families - up to 400% the poverty level. We asked Congresswoman Sanchez is she would support an affordability standard - she said she would. At the vigil, after each testimony, prayers were offered in three different languages for families suffering from the health care crisis, as well as for legislators to vote in way that is just and improves the lives of families in our communities.
One testimony from Sunday was particularly memorable. Mirian Santiago is a college student who hopes to finish school with a degree in crime scene investigation, get a her master’s, and set her family up for financial sustainability. However, because of recent budget cuts in California, Mirian is unable to enroll her daughter Alizé in the state’s health program for low-income kids. The stress of finishing her degree while caring for her daughter weighs heavily on Mirian. Her fear is that, some day, she will have to choose between continuing her education and caring for her daughter’s health needs.
The simple fact is that health reform is a moral imperative.
READ MORE ABOUT OUR HEALTH CARE VIGIL:
- E-Newsletter Update: Healthcare Prayer Vigil | English
- MSNBC: Prayer vigil calls for affordable health care
- OC Register: 300 gather to pray for afforable health care | PDF
- United Press: Fair Healthcare cost focus of prayer vigil | PDF
- Garden Grove Journal: Healthcare push comes to Garden Grove | PDF
- OCCCO Research Reports
- Community Letter to Feinstein
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Event Agendas: English | Español | Tiếng Việt
SUPPORT OUR HEALTH CARE EFFORTS:
- Visit www.occcopico.org/donate and become a financial partner.
- For National efforts, see www.coverallfamilies.org.
- For Local and State efforts, call OCCCO at 714-491-0771.
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