Newsletters
April 2022
This Spring, we are deepening our roots in rural and small town Indiana, so we can grow a brighter future together! Too many of us have been isolated over the last two years and have lost our vital connection to our neighbors. So, we’re creating new community spaces by opening additional offices where we can come together and share meals, host community meetings, connect our neighbors to services, and more. Relationships are the core of organizing, and we’re taking the time this spring to deepen our relationships with one another.
Organizing to Protect & Improve Medicaid
Whether we’re Black, white or brown, when it comes to our health, we all want to make sure we can prevent, treat or recover from illness or injury without fearing we’ll go bankrupt. For nearly 2 million Hoosiers Medicaid provides the essential healthcare coverage we all need to get and stay well.
During the pandemic, many of the punitive and complicated rules related to Indiana’s Medicaid programs were suspended, including monthly premium payments. But, now that the pandemic is beginning to end, Indiana could return to the old way of running Medicaid, and that means a lot of us might lose our healthcare coverage. The state estimates that at least 277,000 Hoosiers will likely lose their healthcare because they will be kicked off of Medicaid!
For the past few months, we’ve been meeting with community and healthcare leaders to fight for Hoosier healthcare and make certain Hoosiers are on Medicaid are at the center of the decisions which impact them. We’re working together with other organizations, and published an op-ed in January in the Indy Star what the state could do to protect Hoosier healthcare.
We don’t know yet when the federal public health emergency will end, but if you want to learn more or get involved in the fight for Hoosier healthcare, email tracey@hoosieraction.org and plan on attending the May 25 Medicaid Advisory Committee Meeting in person at 10 am or on Youtube.
Let’s Meet Tamara Harris!
We’re excited to announce that Tamara Harris, a leader in Hoosier Action and a mother of four children, has joined our staff as an Organizer with the Moms Chapter.
Tamara has already organized several successful events, including the recent Feb 26th event that brought together over 30 community members to participate in a panel discussion with Indianapolis faith, community, health, and law enforcement leaders about COVID-19 and violent crime as well as a job fair and resource navigation event, Another Chance Job Fair, on April 23rd for families and the formerly incarcerated to help them build a brighter future!
We welcome Tamara to the team!
“My goal is to help gain trust and provide resources to my community to try to reduce violence and mental health issues that have been ignored in the wonderful City of Indianapolis.”
Board Staff Retreat
On April 23, members of the Hoosier Action Board and staff met together in person for the first time since the pandemic. It was a fun-filled collaborative space, brainstorming ideas for the coming year.
As the weather is heating up this spring, so is the Ohio River Valley (ORV) Chapter of Hoosier Action! We had a fun and productive leader dinner to plan our next moves and have scheduled two community conversation events in May to be held in Scott County and Floyd County. More info to follow!
Our next chapter meeting is May 4th in Austin, IN. At our monthly chapter meetings, we will be getting to know each other, learning about power, and planning our upcoming community conversations events. If you live in Scott, Clark or Floyd counties and would like to join us, contact Will Stauffer at will@hoosieraction.org.
Jackson Co. Chapter members met on April 21st at Hoosier Action’s Seymour office. We’re continuing our housing work by reaching out into our community. The next Jackson Co. Chapter Meeting will be May 11th from 6 – 7:30pm. We’ll be meeting at Kessler Park in Seymour. Want to get involved in Jackson County? Contact Laxmi Palde at laxmi@hoosieraction.org.
It was all smiles on April 14th, when the Bartholomew County Chapter met to connect with each other in person and plan outreach. On Wednesday, May 4th, we’re embracing the beautiful spring weather and canvassing outside our local Walmart! We’ll have flyers and get everyone trained before we start. We will also be holding our next Chapter meeting on May 12th from 6:30pm-8:30pm. If you live or work in Bartholomew County, join the Bartholomew County chapter to build power & organize more people! Reach out to organizer Stephanie Zhang at stephanie@hoosieraction.org for more information.
Morgan County Chapters next chapter meeting is May 4th to plan our Door Knocking Outreach into Morgan County May 14th from 1:30pm – 4pm (ET). We will meet at the Martinsville City Park. We are talking to people at their doors about what is impacting their health and lives! From substance use and mental health to pollution, we are here to gather stories and invite people into solutions. Training starts at 1:30pm (no experience needed!) Live in Morgan County? Connect with organizer Tasha Coppinger at tasha@hoosieraction.org for more information.
The Moms of Hoosier Action (MOHA) held their first hybrid (in-person/online) chapter meeting on April 10, with many members meeting in-person for the first time.
On April 23rd, the Moms of Hoosier Action organized an event in Indianapolis, Another Chance Job Fair, to give the community an opportunity to meet with employers that gainfully employ those with previous criminal background issues. Many attendees have been contacted by employers for interviews and job offers. This was the first time we organized such an event and we’re encouraged by the Employer response. Many new opportunities have opened for people to thrive.
Their next MOHA Chapter Meeting will be held May 22 from 3pm-5pm (ET). If you are interested in joining MOHA, contact Eva Bell at eva@hoosieraction.org.
We’re building a new chapter for all Hoosiers in Greater Indiana! All Hoosier Action members who live outside of counties already organized in chapters are welcome to join our first-ever Greater Indiana Chapter Meeting on Zoom on May 22nd from 3pm-5pm (ET). We’ll reconnect with each other and plan opportunities to engage in both statewide work as well as partner with regional chapters to build power. If you’d like to learn more about joining the Greater Indiana Chapter, please reach out to Michelle Higgs at admin@hoosieraction.org.
Training: Powerful Communications
Zoom Call
May 26, 2022 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ETJoin Hoosier Action for a training on how to communicate powerfully and shape public narrative to win real change.
Next Orientation:
New to Hoosier Action? Here’s our next “Welcome to the Action, Hoosier!” An Orientation to Hoosier Action
Hoosier Action Orientation
ZOOM CALL
May 10, 2022 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET
New to Hoosier Action? Want to learn more about how you can get involved building the Indiana we deserve? Join us for an introduction to our organization and connect with other members from across the state!
To see all events and register, go to https://www.hoosieraction.org/events
Join us!
Hoosier Action is a community organization made-up of members from local chapters and across the state. We work to build an Indiana where regular people have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. We have hundreds of members from South Bend to Seymour and everywhere in between. We run campaigns, hold trainings, and develop local leadership in the areas where we work; changing hearts and minds (and winning!) along the way.
Change both lives and politics in Indiana: become a member of Hoosier Action today!