FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS ADVISORY
August 14: Working-Class Town Hall in Youngstown/Lordstown, Ohio to Put Real Stories Behind the National Debate Over Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Health Care Access
LORDSTOWN, OHIO: As the nation debates the future of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and access to affordable health care, working-class residents of the Mahoning Valley will gather Friday for a public town hall focused on what those policy debates mean in real people’s lives.
On August 14 the Mahoning Valley People’s Action Alliance (MVPAA) will host “Our Stories, Our Hopes, Our Shared Future,” its first Town Hall on the needs of the working class, at the UAW 1112 Hall, 11471 Reuther Dr., Warren, Ohio.
The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 1:00 p.m., with community resource tables staffed by organizations including Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, Mahoning County Veteran’s Service, Trumbull County Veteran’s Service, Trumbull County Action Program, Mahoning Valley Solidarity Alliance and the League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown.
The formal program will run from 2:00–3:00 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer period and an opportunity for attendees to share their own experiences.
From policy debates to personal consequences
Norm Wernet, president of the Ohio Alliance of Retired Americans and facilitator of the town hall, said the event is intended to put a human face on programs that millions of Americans rely on.
“Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were built because people in this country organized around a simple promise: after a lifetime of work, illness, disability or age should not erase a person’s health, well-being or dignity. We can work to ensure this promise is maintained for older Americans and delivered to the next generation, and we have to do it right now."
The town hall will feature personal testimony and perspectives from across the Mahoning Valley, including:
A widowed retiree who is four years away from Medicare and struggling with rising ACA premiums and deductibles while waiting for a surgical procedure she cannot afford.
The president of AFSCME Local 2026, the nurses’ union at Trumbull Regional Medical Center, discussing the human cost of the hospital’s collapse and the continuing need for affordable, high-quality health care in the Valley.
A local physician providing a front-line perspective on affordability, access to care and the implications of an expanding health-care desert for Mahoning Valley patients.
A 74-year-old Warren resident confronting a $145 monthly rent increase, deteriorating living conditions and the loss of services in her 55-plus housing community.
Organizers say these stories illustrate a larger question confronting communities across the country: What happens when the systems Americans depend on no longer provide security when people need them most?
The town hall will also provide attendees with information about concrete actions individuals and small groups can take in their communities. MVPAA organizers will offer assistance to people who want to pursue those actions or organize locally.
A birthday for Social Security
The event will take place on Social Security’s anniversary, and organizers will mark the occasion with birthday cake and refreshments.
The facility has accessible parking and bathrooms.
WHAT: Public Town Hall — Our Stories, Our Hopes, Our Shared Future
WHEN: Friday, August 14, 2026
DOORS OPEN: 1:00 p.m.
PROGRAM: 2:00–3:00 p.m., followed by Q&A and community testimony
WHERE: UAW 1112 Hall, 11471 Reuther Dr., Warren, Ohio
COST: Free and open to all
MEDIA / EVENT CONTACT:
Norm Wernet
Mahoning Valley People’s Action Alliance
614-370-4635
OhioRetiredAmericans@gmail.com
More information: https://linktr.ee/
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