Disaster Relief

United Way Ventura, CA is SURPRISED by the "soft demand" for assistance and reported a surplus of millions of donated funds to the VC Star on May 31, 2018. Deserving people were not able to apply due to the unfair and unrealistic income eligibility criteria! When people from across the world donated money, they trusted their financial gifts would reach ALL who experienced total/partial loss of their homes due to the Thomas Fire tragedy. It's simple. We want a new application phase without income restrictions. It is wrong to discriminate against people who have lost everything they owned! https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2018/05/31/thomas-fire-relief-funds-have-more-money-than-demand/617352002/ We have emailed CEO of UW Ventura County: Eric Harrison and as of 2pm Friday, June 22 he has not responded to our request for positive change. We were ignored for three weeks. Your help supporting this cause is very much appreciated! Please add comments to JOIN THE CONVERSATION below. An update will be posted soon. UPDATE: We sent this email to CEO Eric Harrison on June 27:We received your letter. We are a small team of volunteers, who are Thomas Fire Survivors, representing Ventura and Ojai. Our goal is simple, we want the income restrictions lifted so that any Thomas Fire Survivor can apply and receive donations that were sent to the UW Fund. We understand the application should include a process for proving loss, but it is our hope that UW will eliminate the tax documents and paystubs requirements.The Change.org Petition currently has 800 signatures. Our next steps will be to involve media and to increase our social media presence, if need be. We will share your reply with our followers after confirmation that ALL are eligible to apply for and receive donated funds.Sincerely,The Positive Change for Thomas Fire Group

Everyone has seen the unprecedented devastation in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  The entire island is without power and thousands of Americans may die.  Many have asked how they can help.  This petition focuses on cutting through bureaucracy that could cost lives and add to the suffering of millions of Americans in Puerto Rico.  The Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act 1920, 46 U.S.C. § 883) prevents foreign ships from carrying cargo between the US mainland and noncontiguous parts of the US like Puerto Rico. Foreign ships can't stop in Puerto Rico to offload goods. Instead, goods are dropped off on the mainland and brought to the island on US flag ships. This makes everything more expensive, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, could actually cost lives. The Department of Homeland Security extended a waiver of the Jones Act to relieve PR, but the waiver expired on September 22, 2017.   I started this petition on Saturday, September 23rd.  By September 28th, this petition garnered nearly 500,000 supporters, and President Trump and DHS agreed to waive the Jones Act for 10 days.  While this is a good start, Puerto Rico will need additional time to rebuild its economy and infrastructure and should receive the benefit of foreign support.  For example, Germany has already begun assisting Puerto Rico with restoring its power grid.  By signing this petition, you are telling the Department of Homeland Security and the President of the United States to waive the Jones Act for 12 months to give Puerto Rico the relief it needs to recover and rebuild its infrastructure and economy.  

Many citizens are shocked and outraged by the war that is taking place against immigrants who are seeking asylum in this country.  These individuals came to our borders hoping to find safety for their children, only to have them taken away to be caged and neglected.  These children have been taken hostage and have become prisoners of a war whose objective is to fulfill the current administration's wishes.  As prisoners of war, it is the Red Cross'  purpose to investigate their well being, and to ensure that their needs - including essential care, are met.  We the people of America, many of whom have donated to the Red Cross when children of other countries have been in peril, strongly recognize the peril these children are facing.  We urge the Red Cross to demand access to these children to ensure their safety and well being.  Barring returning the children to their parents, we will not accept anything less.  

More Americans died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria than on September 11th, and in Hurricane Katrina. It's been 9 months since Hurricane Maria, and we are just now finding out that over 4,600 people died from the storm. That death toll is dramatically higher than what lawmakers first told us -- including President Trump who, in the aftermath of the storm, said that only 17 people died. How did U.S. and Puerto Rican authorities get the death toll number so wrong? Join with concerned citizens and demand that Congress create a special commission to investigate how thousands of deaths happened and went unreported by our government. Hurricane Maria was the deadliest natural disaster in over a century. When thousands of Americans are killed, we deserve thorough answers from the government as to what happened. Just like after September 11th, when a special commission was established to find out what happened after the loss of so many lives, we need a Hurricane Maria Commission Investigation of similar magnitude. There should be accountability for what happened at all levels of government that kept hidden the fact that 4,600 Americans died during this storm, and helps ensure that no future natural disaster comes close to claiming this many lives.