On behalf of SSWAA's Legislative Committee and Board of Directors, we first would like to express our deepest sorrow in regards to the recent tragedies in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio this weekend. Once again we are faced with the reality that we are in the midst of a public health crisis that requires immediate action. The grief, pain and trauma caused by these egregious acts of violence not only have a devastating effect on the families of those whose lives were lost and the injured individuals but are significantly impacting our communities and nation as a whole. We mourn with the families who have lost their loved ones. SSWAA will be issuing a statement in response to these events as well as the President's recent statement linking the cause of these mass shootings to be the result of mental illness. Once we have issued our statement, we are also planning to send an action alert to urge our policy leaders to come together once and for all to create legislative action to eliminate gun violence and to create a climate of inclusion, unity and peace where every human is treated with dignity and respect.

Another critical issue facing our nation is our human rights crisis at the border. Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) introduced the Secure and Protect Act of 2019. This bill would effectively ban refugees from asylum protections and punish those that seek safety in the United States. SSWAA strongly opposes the bill as we believe it punishes those seeking safety and denies our national and international obligations towards refugees seeking asylum as outlined in U.S. law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Our government should invest in protections and resources to ensure that every case where families, children and individuals seeking asylum are treated with dignity, fairness and processed with efficiency. WE NEED YOU TO CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY!!! PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED ACTION ALERT TO GUIDE YOUR ADVOCACY. Our urgency to act is due to the fact that this bill has moved quickly to committee for a vote despite just being introduced last week. Thus, we are concerned about the devastating impact this legislation will have if passed. 

We need all of our voices and we appreciate your advocacy as always. Thank you for taking action today and stay tuned for SSWAA's Statement and another Action Alert to address the immediate need end gun violence in our nation. 

Christy McCoy MSW LICSW
MSSWA Legislative Chair & Secretary; Midwest School Social Work Council Recognition Chair; SSWAA Secretary & Legislative Chair
School Social Worker
Agape High School 

SSWAA_ACTION ALERT oppose S 1494 8:1:2019 (1)