State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Your District 38
Update

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*Constituent Stories**

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*Constituent
Services That Make a Difference*

My Constituent Services team goes
above and beyond every day to help those who reach out to our office.
Recently, a constituent's letter reminded me just how much of an
impact that work has.

After almost a year of trying to resolve an
issue with her utility company, our constituent was getting nowhere.
Frustrated, she contacted our office. One of my Constituent Relations
Specialists stepped in immediately, worked directly with the utility
company, and got a full year's tax credit--more than $180--applied to
the account in a little over a month.

In the constituent's words,
our office "not only secured the refund but also restored my faith in
the system and spared me considerable additional stress."

That kind
of impact is exactly why we do this work--and I'm grateful every day
for the expertise and care my team brings to it.

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*Upcoming
Events**

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*Get
the Support You've Earned: VFW Service Officer Appointments
Available*

How can a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) help you? These
accredited and certified professionals can

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Help you identify
issues and develop evidence

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Answer your requests for
assistance

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File your claims with VA in a timely manner

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Review your rating decision for accuracy

They have a 90% success
rate in correcting errors, helping you avoid a lengthy appeals
process! They can also help with appeals in situations where you are
unhappy with the outcome of your claims.

Appointments are required
to meet with a VSO. Call or email us today to schedule an appointment
at either our Ross Township or Natrona Heights Offices!

*Ross
Township Office*

5000 McKnight Road, Suite 405

Pittsburgh, PA
15237

1st Monday of each month from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

*Upcoming
Dates:*

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Monday, November 3rd

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Monday, December
1st

*Harrison Township Office*

1826 Union Ave.

Natrona
Heights, PA 15065

Last Wednesday of each month from 10:00 AM - 2:00
PM - except November and December where dates change for the
holidays!

*Upcoming Dates:*

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Wednesday, October 29th

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Wednesday, November 19th

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December - No VSO

Contact us at
412-364-0469 (Ross), 724-224-2131 (Harrison), or email us at
[email protected] [link 1] to book your one-on-one
session - appointments fill up quickly, so don't delay!

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*Springdale
Trunk or Treat and Costume Parade*

*Saturday, October 25, 2025,
Springdale Borough Parking Lot, 2-5pm*

Join Senator Williams at
Springdale Borough's Trunk or Treat on October 25th! Decorate your car
and pass out candy or just bring the kids to trick or treat. Scan the
QR code above for more information and to register!

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*Senior Resource Fair!*

*Thursday, October 30, 2025,
Ross Municipal Building, 10am-12pm*

Don't miss Rep. Emily Kinkead's
and my Senior Resource Fair on Thursday, October 30th from 10 am - 12
pm at the Ross Community Center. Meet us, our staff and over 30
vendors with resources and information!

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*Good
News**

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*Welcome
to The Checkup with Dr. Hassie!*

Hello North Hills and Pittsburgh's
northern bit! I'm Dr. Hasanga Samaraweera, but since that's a
mouthful, most folks call me Dr. Hassie (rhymes with Aussie). I'm a
pediatrician and educator who enjoys helping to mold the next
generation of doctors. My love of learning has also taken me beyond
medicine as I have completed a master's degree in both public health
and public policy (after which I told my wife I was considering
pursuing my dream of becoming a magician; she said I had better learn
to make my student loans disappear first).

After meeting Senator
Williams and seeing the genuine care and thoughtfulness she brings to
her role, I asked her how I could get more involved in our community.
We decided to start by helping to demystify medicine and public health
by creating a recurring column in this newsletter where I answer
questions submitted by you. You can ask anything from, "Why does my
baby throw up?" to "Why does watching C-SPAN make me want to throw
up?" My hope is that together we can learn, laugh, and look out for
one another's health and well-being.

See you in your inbox,

Dr.
Hassie

Demystifying Harrisburg is one of my favorite things to do,
so I'm looking forward to this chance to demystify medicine with Dr.
Hassie. Please submit your questions for him by replying to this email
and he'll respond in a future edition! At a time when science and
expertise are taking a back seat to ideology and misinformation,
starting from our Secretary of Health and Human Services and the
gutting of the Centers for Disease Control, I'm proud to partner with
local experts like Dr. Hassie to ensure that you have access to the
best information available to make decisions about your family's
health. And I'll continue to fight for affordable, accessible health
care for those decisions.

Senator Williams



Submit your
question for Dr. Hassie [link 3]

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*Rachel
Carson Park Redesign in Cheswick*

I was excited to join Cheswick's
Community Day and celebrate the new Rachel Carson Park master plan,
which connects visitors directly to the riverfront. Redesigns like
this one are part of a growing trend of giving people direct access to
the waters that have been cut off by industry for decades. I look
forward to working with Cheswick to bring this project to
life!

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*Ross
Township Community Day!*

We also joined Ross Township's Community
Day to talk with neighbors and celebrate all that Ross has to offer to
residents.

It was a pleasure to catch up with the inspiring team
from *Treasure House Fashions*, a resale boutique that also provides
quality, donated clothing to women in need. I was excited to hear they
are closing their doors from September 29 - November 4 to install an
accessible entrance that will allow them to better serve all visitors
thanks to state grant funding I helped secure. It's great to see our
community becoming more inclusive!

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*NHCO
Costume Drive a Huge Success!*

Thank you to everyone who donated to
our Halloween Costume Drive for North Hills Community Outreach! When
we wrapped up last week, we had three more boxes (and a giant tub!)
filled to the brim with spooky, silly, brave, and whimsical
costumes.

Thanks to you, a lot of children will have a cool costume
to wear trick-or-treating this year.

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*East
Liberty Family Health Care Center Panel Discussion*

Last week, I
joined East Liberty Family Health Care Center, local healthcare,
higher education, community, and political leaders to discuss how we
can work together to create a healthier future for every Pittsburgh
community. This was an incredible conversation that addressed the
reality that health is connected to so many things- transportation,
food, housing, free time, and more. I look forward to continuing these
discussions and working together to implement policies that give all
Pittsburghers the opportunity to be healthier!

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*La
Roche University Leads in Ethical AI Use *

Thank you to Dr. Gregor
Thuswaldner, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the
Faculty at La Roche University for joining us at a joint hearing of
the Education and Communications & Technology Committees on AI in
Education this week!

La Roche is leading discussions on campus
about centering the arts and humanities as touchstones to encourage
the ethical use of AI and as guidelines to critically evaluate AI
results. We had a good conversation about this work, and I look
forward to continuing it.

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*Budget
Impasse is Hurting Workers*



Thank you to the workers of SEIU
PA State Council and AFSCME for coming to Harrisburg to tell
legislators in person how our lack of a budget is impacting
Pennsylvanians every day.
We need to pass a budget now, before more
people lose their jobs and access to the services that they need to
survive.

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*Legislative
Update**

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*100
Days of Budget Impasse*

I hear from my constituents and from people
and organizations across Pennsylvania about the pain that this late
budget is causing them daily. People are losing their jobs, rape
crisis centers are shutting down, foster parents aren't getting paid,
senior centers are closing, children aren't receiving the services
they need to thrive, all because Pennsylvania has not passed a budget.
I have shared some of those stories [link 4] on the Senate floor over
the last few session days.

Wednesday marked 100 days without a
state budget.

I keep hearing talk about passing a "responsible"
budget. But I don't know what exactly is "responsible" about being
over 100 days late to doing your constitutionally required job. How is
it "responsible to turn a blind eye to the suffering that is happening
as a result of not doing our job? How is it responsible to pick
winners and losers by offering loans to some people that are hurt by
this impasse, but saying to others- like our schools and farmers- too
bad?

Our counties, human service agencies, non-profits, childcare
centers, and schools should not have to borrow the money that we were
constitutionally obligated to provide them back in June. They should
not have to drain their reserves or take out loans that require
interest payments.

While counties and providers are borrowing money
to stay afloat, the Commonwealth is earning interest by not passing a
budget. That money should go back to the entities incurring those
costs.

That's why my Senate Democratic colleagues and I are
introducing legislation that will pay off interest accrued on any loan
taken out by an entity that receives state funding that was forced to
take out a loan during the budget impasse. This includes counties,
human service agencies, non-profit agencies, childcare centers, and
schools that have been forced to take on additional debt to stay open
and continue providing necessary services.This legislation attempts to
make these entities whole for money that they never should have had to
borrow in the first place.

People are hurting. It's time to stop
playing games with people's lives and pass a budget.

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*News
You Can Use**

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*Free Hotline for Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren*

The PA Department of Aging recently launched the *PA
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Legal Line! Users can call
1-877-727-7529 *to get help from the SeniorLAW Center. These attorneys
will offer legal information, advice, and referrals for older
caregivers. Grandparents who call will be able to access a variety of
resources, including help with custody proceedings, assistance
preparing for court, and connections with caregiver support
groups.

There are approximately 83,000 grandparents who are caring
for nearly 260,000 children in Pennsylvania. This free state-wide
legal service will really help our seniors navigate unfamiliar systems
as they make the choice to be parents for a second time.

In
addition to the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Legal Line, there
are additional resources for every caregiver in the Commonwealth:

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PDA's Caregiver Support Program [link 6] provides resources and
assistance to individuals who assume primary responsibility as a
caregiver of their loved ones. The program, administered by the 52
Area Agencies on Aging, provides access to respite care, addresses the
need for formal and informal supports, and offers financial
reimbursement for eligible out-of-pocket costs associated with
caregiving-related services and supplies.

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PA CareKit [link 7]
is also offered by the Department of Aging and provides support for
Pennsylvania's 1.5 million unpaid caregivers, including grandparents
raising grandchildren. The PA CareKit includes training, connection to
respite services, and personalized tools to help informal caregivers
address their unique situations.??

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PA KinConnector [link 8] is
a resource that provides information, referrals, and education
programs for kinship caregivers in Pennsylvania. PA KinConnector also
runs a helpline that can be reached by calling 1-866-KIN-2111
(1-866-546-2111). The PA KinConnector helpline is staffed by
knowledgeable, compassionate social service professionals prepared to
help kinship care families understand and access resources that may be
able to help them and children in their care.

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*Apply by November 14th for the Environmental Education
Grants Program*

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) has more than $1 million available for the
Environmental Education Grants Program.

Education projects should
address air and water quality, land use, and/or climate change.
Project proposals must demonstrate objectives to heighten public
understanding of PA's environmental issues and to increase
environmental stewardship and advocacy. Grant *applications will be
accepted through November 14, 2025.*

Eligible applicants are public
and private schools and universities, county conservation districts,
non-profit organizations, and businesses.

Examples of past awards
include establishing pollinator habitat, sustainable and restorative
agriculture projects, stormwater control workshops, green careers, and
climate change awareness and prevention. Funding priority is given to
environmental education projects that engage people living, working,
recreating, and/or attending school within Environmental Justice areas
or otherwise underserved communities.

The 2026 Environmental
Education Grants Manual and other pertinent information can be viewed
here [link 10].

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*Applications Open Now for Dollar Energy Fund Utility
Assistance!*

With the future of the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) uncertain due to federal changes, we want
to make our constituents aware of the Pittsburgh-based utility
assistance program, *Dollar Energy Fund*. The program opened for the
2025-26 winter season on October 1st.

Households with an income at
or below 200% of the federal poverty level can receive grants of up to
$500 to offset winter heating costs. Grants are issued on a first
come, first served basis, so don't hesitate to reach out if you are
facing a utility crisis.

Go to [link removed] [link
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tool for other water, gas, and electric customer assistance programs
offered by utility providers!

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*Know Your Rights Lunch and Learn Workshop*

*Saturday,
October 18, 2025, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N Highland Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206 10am - 5:30pm*

Don't miss the 8th Annual Know
Your Rights Workshop/Lunch and Learn Mini-Conference for parents and
guardians on Saturday, October 18th! This year's theme is "Education
is STILL a Human Right".

The conference is a community-centered
event designed to equip families with the knowledge and tools they
need to protect and advocate for children's educational rights. The
conference will feature powerful workshops, passionate speakers, and
vital resources covering key topics like:

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IEPs & 504 Plans-
Special Education

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The Impacts of School Closures

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Restorative Justice Practice/Focus on Healing, Not Push Out

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Immigration in Our Schools: How to Protect Our Children from
I.C.E.

Click here [link 14] for more information or to
register.

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*Clean
Up Day in West View*

*Saturday, October 18, 9am - Noon*

Looking
for a way to give back to your community? Volunteer with the West View
Community Association for their Community Clean Up Day! All supplies
are provided and you'll enjoy a free lunch after all that hard
work.

For questions or for more information go to
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or [email protected] [link 17].

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As
always, please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have
by phone at 412-364-0469 [link 18] (Ross Office), 724-224-2131 [link
19] (Harrison Office) or by email at
[email protected] [link 20]. My staff will return
your call/email within 24 hours (Monday-Friday).

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Senator
Lindsey Williams

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mailto:[email protected]
[link 18] tel:412-364-0469
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tel:724-224-2131
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mailto:[email protected]

Contact
Information:

Website:
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Office Location:
District
Office
5000 McKnight Road
Suite 405
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone:
412-364-0469
Fax: 412-364-0928
Monday ? Friday 9-5

Harrison
Office
1826 Union Avenue
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Phone:
724-224-2131
Fax: 724-224-2145
Monday ? Thursday 9-5

Harrisburg
Office
366 Capitol Building
Senate Box 203038
Harrisburg, PA
17120-3038
Phone: 717-787-6538
Fax: 717-787-8625
By appointment
only


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