Above: Tonya Mendoza shares her story of struggling to pay for medical care without insurance; at times she had to decide between paying her utility bills and rent or buying medicine.Read More
At that instant I realized that I have the greatest and most hard-working mom in the universe. Even though she is always tired for her work, she keeps going because she wants to give my sisters and me a better life, and we do not see that. We constantly ask her for money as if it grows on trees, and she gives it to us without complaining.
Echoing statements by the Pope, Medrano pointed to the unbridled capitalism eroding our planet’s health and leaving millions of poor vulnerable to the effects of climate change. “Unless we change our economic system, we cannot care for the most vulnerable people in our communities. They are the ones who are being the most affected by climate change.”
Calling it one of the “best” budgets the state has ever had, California Gov. Jerry Brown said the $167.6 billion dollar budget the legislature passed Tuesday would pump more money into child care and education, pay down the state’s debt by $1.9 billion and provide health care for its undocumented children.
Our community is not going to stop pushing for health coverage for all the tax paying and hardworking citizens of Merced County and our surrounding areas. The lives of our undocumented families, friends, and neighbors matter just as much as those lives of documented people.
Over 270 people packed into the May 8 event, representing a diverse array of ethnic communities in the area. Many offered personal testimony about how they had been affected by the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Hundreds of organizers, activists, and advocates rallied last week at the Capitol in a show of support for SB 4, otherwise known as the Health 4 All. The bill, which passed the Senate Health Committee in a unanimous vote last week, would provide health insurance to all Californians, including undocumented residents.