Below are some actions and events that move us toward our goal of affordable and accessible health care for all. The taskforce supports access to affordable and quality health care for all residents of Wisconsin and of the United States. Unless otherwise noted, events are free and open to the public.
Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin for a postcard party to ask the Governor to veto any state budget that does not expand BadgerCare!
A State budget without BadgerCare expansion doesn't support the people of Wisconsin. Every Wisconsinite, rural or urban, needs healthcare to survive and thrive. Unfortunately, certain Wisconsin politicians are blocking over 90,000 Wisconsinites from the healthcare they need. In doing so, those politicians are keeping billions of dollars in federal aid from reaching Wisconsin. We need to make our voices heard NOW, and do everything we can to demand that Wisconsin expand BadgerCare.
This event is free and open to the public. Advance registration requested:
The Pandemic has Brought Face to Face with Things We Were Not Used To
It has been a year since the Pandemic hit the US. We have all missed birthdays and holidays. Many have lost loved ones and friends. We have stared at fear, loneliness, and pain. We have learned Zoom, begged for shots and tried to wrap our brains around a terror that we thought was dead. Children have started school on computers, teens have graduated from high school on video, a thousand milestones small and large have come and gone. Some of us have battled loneliness and others have had suddenly crowded houses. We have tried to work from home while trying to remember high school geometry or desperately tried to support a family with less pay. Maybe we missed a long-awaited family trip or a just a quiet walk through a museum. Or a funeral of those we loved.
We have had many emotions that we are not used to. We have anger that those we trusted have betrayed us; that strangers would rather brag about their rights than save other people. That we have been lied to. We have sorrow at levels our modern world is not used to. We had thought that there were not going to be any consequences, no penalties. We declared we had conquered nature. Hopefully we have learned a lesson.
More than 900 People of Faith United for Justice from all around Wisconsin – including 80 from the ESTHER – traveled to Madison on March 14 to bear witness to the importance of social justice and to ask our legislators to support 1) funding for treatment instead of prison (11x15); 2) public transit; and 3) accepting federal funds to expand Medicare.
ESTHER is a grassroots, interfaith organization that believes in and works towards achieving health care that is affordable and accessible to all.
On November 7th, and discovered by ESTHER leadership on November 10th, Health Care for America Now (HCAN), issued a statement that included a stance for "access to abortion services". Our organization has remained abortion neutral and has encouraged members to follow their church leadership on the issue of abortion. Due to the position taken by HCAN, we have decided to immediately withdraw our partnership from the coalition.
To further clarify, there was no announcement or action requested through the ESTHER organization on the position of the Stupak amendment.
We continue to support and work for health care reform, bringing coverage to millions that are left uninsured. The set of principles that we began with are still the guiding principles for this reform. We look forward to the passing of reform before the end of 2009.
The Gamaliel Foundation invites you to be on a phone call with President Barack Obama in an urgent faith conversation about health care reform.
President Obama will be on a forty minute, nationwide phone call with Gamaliel and other national religious denominations and groups on Wednesday, August 19 at 4:00 pm Central. The goal of the call is to connect and energize the millions of people of faith across the country who are concerned about health care and who want to be part of the solution.
To listen in on the nationwide phone call, dial 347-996-5501 (no passcode, long-distance charges may apply) or log on to www.faithforhealth.org at the time of the call.
This national call in and audio webcast on health care reform is part of Gamaliel’s on-going efforts for health care reform, which have included hundreds of actions by its affiliates and constituent meetings with almost 100 congressional offices in Washington, D.C..
Help Shape the Historic Decision To Bring Health Care to All Americans
Ride the WISDOM Bus To Washington DC
Depart: Milwaukee on June 23 at 6PM Arrival: Milwaukee June 26 about 6AM Cost per person: $100 and includes bus, lodging and 2 meals. (You will be responsible for the remainder of your meals.)
In Washington DC, thousands from across the nation will gather to:
-Get valuable information to progress the national health care debate
-Visit the offices of congressional representatives
-Join thousands of people of faith for an Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer on June 24th
-Take part in an even larger rally for Health Care Reform on June 25th
Please don’t delay; there are a limited number of seats on the bus.
> Register for this National Health Care Summit in DC by June 7th <
We can have a strong public option, we will have a strong public option.
While in Appleton for an ESTHER event, Wendell Potter participated in an live online interview with the Post Crescent editorial board. Click the above image to watch the video and hear his important message.
Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin for a postcard party to ask the Governor to veto any state budget that does not expand BadgerCare!
More than 900 People of Faith United for Justice from all around Wisconsin – including 80 from the ESTHER – traveled to Madison on March 14 to bear witness to the importance of social justice and to ask our legislators to support 1) funding for treatment instead of prison (11x15); 2) public transit; and 3) accepting federal funds to expand Medicare.
