Policy & Advocacy Program
September Newsletter
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HLYASS 2019 was a phenomenal success!
We had over 75 youth from across the state of Georgia attend our summit this past Labor Day weekend! Over a span of three days, we heard from young leaders in our community about the challenges youth in Georgia face accessing sexual and reproductive health services and various community strategies to address these challenges. Youth participated in skills-building workshops, advocacy trainings, personal and professional development opportunities and more! Our speakers included State Representative Jasmine Clark, activist-organizers Eshe Shukura, Em Getsay,and Devin Barrington-Ward to name a few! For a full overview of the summit schedule, click here. Check out the www.hlyass.org for updates about future HLYA events and information about next year's summit.
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Administrative Advocacy Updates
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This month the Trump Administration put forth two proposed rules that would directly harm our community. We have commented on these two rules urging that they are not passed.
Religious Exemption in Federal Contracting: On August 15, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a proposed rule to clarify the scope and application of the religious exemption contained in section 204(c) of Executive Order 11246. The proposed rule will allow corporations, associations and educational institution with federal contracts to use their religious beliefs and practices as a valid reason to discriminate against their employees on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, LGBTQ status, and other characteristics, such as an employee’s reproductive decisions. It curtails the protections laid out in Executive Order 11246 (requiring government contractors to not discriminate against its employees), Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act and other administrative actions initiated by past presidents. Prior to the new rule, the religious exemption in Executive Order 11246 allowed government contractor or subcontractor to only preference employees that have the same religious beliefs or practices. The proposed rule does not eliminate long standing nondiscrimination orders and regulations. Instead, it adds new definitions to this exemption that would give government contractors the ability to either preference employees who share in their religious beliefs or condition employment on the acceptance or adherence to the contractor’s religious tenets.
Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): The Administration has proposed a rule that would eliminate SNAP benefits for about 3.1 million people and kick about 500,000 children off free school meals by gutting states’ broad-based categorical eligibility option to eliminate SNAP asset tests and use a higher income test to serve more working families with hefty expenses like child care, health care, and housing. The Food and Nutrition Service proposes: (1) To define “benefits” for categorical eligibility to mean ongoing and substantial benefits; and (2) to limit the types of non-cash TANF benefits conferring categorical eligibility to those that focus on subsidized employment, work supports and childcare.The proposed rule would have a devastating impact on low-wage working women and their families who rely on SNAP and free school meals for basic food assistance while struggling to make ends meet.
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Every year on September 26th, we celebrate World Contraception Day. Access to contraception provides each and every one of us with the freedom to determine our own life path, including what our family looks like.
We envision a future where every person has the resources they need to make decisions about their own bodies and lives with dignity and access to affordable contraception is critical to making this happen.
This World Contraception Day, we are calling on our partners to join us in a digital day of action to:
1. Bring visibility to the challenges many people, especially young people, face accessing prescription birth control.
2. Call attention to the need for over-the-counter access to birth control pulls for people of all ages
3. Get loud about the need for insurance coverage of OCs OTC to truly expand access
READ OUR FULL STATEMENT HERE
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HIV2020 Conference is an alternative conference in Mexico City in protest to the IAC AIDS202 Conference happening in the U.S. (San Francisco). The HIV2020 alliance has decided to organize the community-led event to provide a safe alternative for individuals who cannot or will not enter the U.S. in 2020 who cannot afford to attend AIDS2020. It will also offer new opportunities to reaffirm the leading role communities play in the global HIV response.
Keep Reading
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Call to Action on October 8th
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Housing works has issued a call for a massive civil disobedience action at the United State Supreme Court on October 8th. On October 8th, SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in three separate cases to determine whether LGBT people are protected from employment discrimination by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This action is to call attention to the cases and to send a message to the SCOTUS, the administration, the 2020 Presidential candidates and the general public that we will not go back, we will not allow this country to rollback civil rights protection for our communities by decades and will not stand silently by. Housing Works is sponsoring 4 buses from NYC and coordinating national mobilization. Allies can sign up to sponsor here
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The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking creative, compelling ideas from individuals and organizations from all sectors in the U.S. to elevate diverse voices and broaden the national conversation about poverty and economic mobility. Anyone with a great concept is welcome to apply for a $100,000 grant to develop their idea. For more on the funding announcement and to apply, click here.
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