This week, in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, my mother-in-law came to find me holding a magazine.

US Weekly. She held it out like she'd discovered something important.

"Look at this," she said. "It has my name. How do they know I'm here?"

She has lived in our home for years. Each morning, it's still slightly unfamiliar to her. But the magazine knew. The mailing label had her name, her address, this house. She sat with it for the rest of the afternoon, glancing at the cover every few minutes.

Her name. Still there.

She felt seen for one moment. That's rarer than it should be.

This is Day 43 of the DHS shutdown. Day 28 of an unauthorized war. Gas at $3.88 a gallon - up 30% in 28 days because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Sixty-one thousand TSA workers missing their second paycheck. The Senate voted at 2:20 in the morning and left for a two-week recess. The House passed its own bill Friday night without a final vote on the thing itself - a procedural move called a deemer that eliminated the need for any member to go on record. The President signed an order promising TSA paychecks by Monday. The funding source was not identified. Whether the checks actually arrive, and when, remains an open question as of this morning.

The system is not holding the record.

One in five Coloradans provides unpaid family care - 1,032,000 people. None of them are named in Colorado law as a protected class. No accommodation rights. No protection from dismissal when caregiving responsibilities become inconvenient. No law that says: we know you're here.

The Colorado CARE Act would change that. Proposed for the 2027 session, the bill would add family caregiver status as a protected class under Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act. Zero new state spending. Projects $9 to $18 million in annual Medicaid savings.

It cannot fix what is broken in the Strait of Hormuz or in the U.S. Capitol at 2:20 in the morning.

But it can address a caregiver by name.

We are at 755 signatures and 675 supporters.

We need 245 more to reach 1,000.

Every name is evidence that someone is counting the days - and that Colorado can build what Washington will not hold.

Share this petition with one person today. That's all. One person.

Sign here: https://chng.it/DLWncS9wtT

Read this week's full piece: "Her Name on the Cover" - The Revenue Neutral Caregiver on Substack.

Thank you for being here.

Kindly and Gratefully,

- Mark Fukae Director of Advocacy, Professionals Who Care Founder, CASI - Caregiver Advocacy Support Initiative

mark_fukae@casiadvocacy.org | https://www.casiadvocacy.org/ | https://www.professionalswhocare.org/