UUCB Building closure continues through today (Tuesday, January 27th) due to continued extreme cold and blowing snow impacting the parking lot and sidewalks.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana Seeking the Spirit | Building Community | Changing the World
Contact Visit Us Directory Sign In Giving Search Sunday Services 9:30 and 11:30 AM
Justice

Justice Advocacy Corner

Welcome to the Justice Advocacy Corner! Here is a central hub for information sent to the UUCB Office about what steps can be taken to stand up for justice - on both local and federal levels.

Call to Action Against Funding ICE

We have a call to action to urge senators to oppose any appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security that maintains any funding for ICE.

Example script:

Hi, my name is [full name, spelled out] from [full address, spelled out], my email is [email address].

I'm calling to ask that [senator's name] push to defind ICE by opposing any appropriations bill that maintains ICE funding and supporting legislation that claws back to $75 billion ICE slush fund created by H.R. 1 last year. This lawless agency is violently attacking and killing immigrants and citizens around the country and must be defunded and dissolved for good.

Call to Action Against Anti Transgender Bill SB182

We have a Call to Action written for Anti Transgender Bill SB 182!

Please share!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fIA2Lk8-nXnJfaxra_Q98xVyiEltG7fJ8lb5A-cxdZ4/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0


Call to Action on Federal Funding for Housing Supports

Some great news. The US House of Representatives has passed a critical funding bill for HUD. This bill will enable housing support funding  (such as sec 8) and funding for homelessness programs at current levels with some allowance for inflation. It would also enable our local "Beacon" to continue their "rapid rehousing" and "housing first" programs. The loss of the programs would likely double the number of people homeless in the streets.

The next hurdle is the US Senate next week. Please have a look at the linked Call to Action (CTA) helper doc. and contact Senators Young and Banks to urge a yes vote for this bill. More info is provided in the link below.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AU4kfG7UiO3bfbZ8xq2NiPQXdfCf-P03a6o2PZw0FNg/edit?tab=t.0

Call to Action on IGA Bill(s) to Criminalize Homelessness

Both the IGA Senate and the House have destructive bills to criminalize homelessness. The senate bill, Senate Bill 285 has passed committee and is headed for a floor vote. The house bill, HB 1431: Street camping. is not currently scheduled for a committee hearing. Please have a look at the linked call to action below and contact your senator ASAP!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xU1X14vr2IdnVBcP1wTy5r0J7gKe7PZ6RvB2Zo8x2Os/edit?tab=t.0

Senate Bill 285 is the homelessness criminalization bill that is progressing. It has passed out of committee and is now shown in the category of "second reading"  for tomorrow's senate session. This  means it is open for amendments prior to a final vote. So far no amendments have been proposed. Please consider contacting your senator tomorrow to urge a no vote. Talking points and contact info are in the linked google doc. Also the linked "wfyi" piece summarizes some of the points that are being argued.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xU1X14vr2IdnVBcP1wTy5r0J7gKe7PZ6RvB2Zo8x2Os/edit?tab=t.0

https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/homeless-camps-targeted-again-through-new-bill-at-the-statehouse

Find Your Legislators!

Use the link below to find your legislators.
https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators

  • Also, consider using the "5-calls" app - Susan Swaney, our Director of Music, recently recommended this. It is an easy way to make 5-calls a day to your representatives and legislators covering the topics you would like to express. The team behind the app does research on policies and even writes scripts that are helpful to use when calling your legislators. Click this link to find out more: https://5calls.org/

  • Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray recently mentioned a very helpful tool for getting in contact with her representatives - her phone! She saves all of their numbers in her phone with their names, affiliations, and job title. That way, when you have an issue you would like to discuss with their offices, their phone numbers are already saved to your phone. Taking the time to do this once makes the effort much easier later!

Resources

From Side with Love

"Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible. Responding and Organizing In Authoritarian Times" Webinar Slides (PDF)

"Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible. Responding and Organizing In Authoritarian Times" Toolkit (PDF)

Information about Bills and Policies

This is a good overview of how federal cuts in workforce personnel harms our local communities: https://mailchi.mp/monroedems/action-alert-71022-call-houchin-no-doge?e=f94d1e7939