Community
Opioids and Humane Treatment
We have two opioid problems in the U.S. The first one, I am certain you have heard of. It is opioid addiction, which is arguably fueled by the widespread availability of opioids. The second problem is one that was created by how government agencies and businesses decided to address the first problem.For people with chronic health conditions, access to opioid pain killers can restore some normalcy and improve the quality of life. Many people who, like myself, suffer from chronic pain, have very few good days, good hours, or even good minutes in which we must complete ...
COMMON THEMES
Common themes intertwined from the Marchers who came to support the students during the March for Our Lives in Wausau. About 200 people joined student organizers on the 400 Block in Downtown Wausau to remember the 17 students who died February 14th at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.Anna Klieber, one of the organizers from Wausau West, spoke about growing up with social media and technology. It is a way to stay connected. She also sees the harm that social media can do. Anna spoke about Emma Gonzalez, one of the survivors of the shooting, ...
SPOTLIGHT ON HOMELESSNESS, Part 2
Pam Anderson, co-chair of the Marathon County Housing and Homelessness Coalition, spoke about a husband and wife who became homeless after a car accident. The husband lost his job due to his injuries and had to be retrained for a different job. They slept on the floor in the attic of the wife’s father’s home. It was four years before they got back on their feet.In Marathon County, 41% of families are living from paycheck to paycheck. Ten percent of ALICE families are below the poverty level. (2017 United Way Quality of LIFE report for Wausau and Marathon County)...
End Child Poverty in Marathon County
We are excited to report that the campaign has passed 1500 signatories this week. More and more people are joining the movement to call on Wisconsin to adopt a goal of cutting child poverty in half, of reducing racial disparities, and committing to an annual evaluation of our progress. Before we bring this demand to our elected leaders, we want to reach 10,000 signature s, so they know this is a serious campaign with broad support .Please encourage your friends to sign on: https://www.endchildpovertywi.org/endorse End Child Poverty PPT Marathon County ...
HOMELESSNESS, part 1
In his opening statements to Mayor Robert Mielke and Wausau City Council members regarding homelessness, Joseph Volk stated: Marathon County and Wausau have a problem.Joseph Volk, the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness, was one of the speakers at the Presentation: Spotlight on Homelessness in Marathon County, Thursday, February 15th. Mr. Volk highlighted many statistics regarding homelessness. (Additional information has been added by the author of this report.)*Homeless children in the school districts of Wausau and D.C. Everest has ...
Tenth Annual Wisconsin Grassroots Festival
TENTH ANNUAL WISCONSIN GRASSROOTS FESTIVALMarch 24, 2018Registration 8:00 / Event 9:00 To 4:45 Wisconsin Heights High School10173 US Highway 14 / Mazomanie, WISuggested $25 Donation / Lunch IncludedPeople Organizing for SolutionsSPEAKERSLisa GravesJohn NicholsMatt RothschildMark PocanLUNCH TIME SPEAKERSenator Tammy Baldwin21 BREAKOUT SESSIONS A Progressive Agenda for Criminal Justice ReformCoalition-Building in the Democratic Party of WisconsinEditorial Cartooning: Breaking Through The Noise With Pen, Brush & AttitudeElders/Reti...
Demonstration, February 27: Demand Further Soil Tests on Thomas Street
Middle Wisconsin will be in attendance at the event below. We hope you are, too! There has rarely been such a sustained citizen-driven effort on a Wausau policy issue or project.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Concerned citizens are invited to gather on the sidewalk in front of City Hall steps to demand further environmental testing of the neighborhood’s surface soils. This will take place at 5:30pm in front of 407 Grant Street in Wausau.Elevated Dioxin Levels in Soils Recently Identified: In February, private ...
PURPLE BULLSEYES
Purple Bullseyes line the map of the Thomas Street Phase II project. Purple Bullseyes designate the homes, apartment buildings, and businesses slated for some form of destruction. Most of the citizens inside these homes and apartment buildings are low income and vulnerable. Each person living inside a home, an apartment building, or business with a Purple Bullseye has a story.I did an informal, independent survey of some of the citizens on both sides of Thomas Street who will be impacted by Phase II. Over and over the people spoke about the anxiety, the stress, the ...
