As we all face a global health crisis, we want you to know that we are going to face this together. There have been a lot of community members, groups and businesses stepping up to make sure that we are all taken care of. Thank you! I am blown away how we are all coming together. Below is information regarding mutual aid donation needs, pick up and drop of locations for peoples immediate needs.
If you need immediate assistance please call 211 or 1-800-901-2180 and someone should be able to help you. Here is a meal schedule from Broome and Tioga Counties and Local Restaurants offering FREE meals to school children.
Mutual Aid and Donations Drive!
Drop off location is at the Citizen Action office on 477 State street in Binghamton ( behind th CVS).
1) We Need a Stimulus Package that #Protects all People – Not just Corporations. & Stops GOP
Today federal lawmakers are debating a third stimulus package. We must drive messages to lawmakers and the public that the relief package must help all people — not just be a slush fund for the corporations.
Call Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Senator Charles E. Schumer at 833-643-0414. Here is a sample message:
“Hello, my name is —– from —— [zip code]. I’m calling to thank you for standing strong. Please put people first before corporations as you consider relief options. We need direct cash assistance, permanent paid sick leave, expanded unemployment insurance, student debt forgiveness, and immigrant inclusion in all programs. No corporate bailout without restrictions. Make sure the Medicaid Maintenance of Effort is maintained so Governor Coumo cannot cut Medicaid at this critical time. He needs to take the Federal Medicaid dollars and abandon his proposed cuts to Medicaid in the New York budget.”
The coronavirus crisis has held a harsh spotlight on the fact that our country fails to adequately protect working people. Urge Congress to expand #PaidSickDays and #PaidLeave in the emergency response to #COVID19! #AJustStimulus
Join us for a Twitter Storm Today!
Sample tweets:
- Tell @NYGovCuomo to accept the $6.7 Billion in emergency federal Medicaid funding and abandon Medicaid cuts at this critical time! During the #COVID19 pandemic and in the future, we need to make sure the Medicaid Maintenance of Effort is maintained. #ProtectAllPeople
- Thank you @SenSchumer for standing strong and putting people first in the stimulus package. Make sure the Medicaid Maintenance of Effort is maintained so @NYGovCoumo cannot cut Medicaid for New Yorkers at this critical time. #AJustStimulus
- The coronavirus crisis has held a harsh spotlight on the fact that our country fails to adequately protect working people. Urge Congress to expand #PaidSickDays and #PaidLeave in the emergency response to #COVID19! #AJustStimulus
2) Reclaim Our Homes: Take Action to #CancelRent
Harder & Garnar: #LetThemGo #FreeBCJ NOW: Anti-Mass Incarceration Advocacy from Self-Isolation!
Across the country incarcerated people are being released due to the dire risks of 
incarceration in the current pandemic. In Broome County, however, the Sheriff continues to operate the police and CO academy and is failing to provide incarcerated people and his own workers with appropriate protective measures. Like all local jails, the BC jail holds people with who are, on average, much sicker, having conditions like asthma, diabetes and hypertension at greater rates. This means that incarcerated people people them at higher risk even on the outside.
Bluntly, once coronavirus hits BCJ people will die in large numbers.
JUST—unlike the local political elites—has a plan, and its simple: LET THEM GO! Once released they should be rehoused safely, in now unused motels or hotels are a good place to start (these are much better than homeless shelters where people are often in dormitories). See the full list of demands below.
We are asking everyone who has a Twitter/Instagram account, or has the means to email or text us photos, to do the following:
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Take a picture of yourself holding a sign that says “Harder and Garnar, #LetThemGo #FreeBCJ” on it. Write it big enough to show up well in a picture. Do not use selfie mode as it will turn the words in the picture backward.
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Tweet the picture with the caption: “Sheriff Harder and BC Exec Garnar: Release Incarcerated People in Broome County Jail Vulnerable to COVID-19 NOW @NYGovCuomo @BroomeSheriff @JasonForBroome #ClemencyNow #LetThemGo #FreeBCJail.” Make sure to tag Sheriff Harder @BroomeSheriff and Cuomo @NYGovCuomo in the tweet and the picture.
- If you have a photo of a loved one who is incarcerated, feel free to hold up their photo in the picture as well. We want to humanize the issue and put a face to the people we are asking to be released.
- If you do not have social media accounts but still want to participate, take a photo of yourself holding the sign and send it to Mairead McCarran- email maiwead@gmail.com.
