Mahoning Valley People’s Action Alliance Public Town Hall On the Needs of Working Class Americans

 

Mahoning Valley People’s Action Alliance
the
Public Town Hall
On the Needs of Working Class Americans, focusing on
seniors and affordability, held on the anniversary of
the founding of Social Security
OUR STORIES. OUR HOPES.
OUR SHARED FUTURE.
Celebrating Social Security at 91
Medicare and Medicaid at 61!
Together, we can protect what works
and win what our Valley still needs.
Come to be heard. Leave ready to act.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2026the
Doors and resource tables: 1:00 PM
Town hall: 2:00-3:30 PM
UAW Local 1112 Union Hall
11471 Reuther Drive, Warren, OH 44481

FREE | OPEN TO ALL | FULLY ACCESSIBLE
including parking and restrooms | Air conditioning
Birthday cake and refreshments

Hosted by Mahoning Valley People's Action Alliance
with Alliance for Retired Americans, Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, United Autoworkers Local 1112 and Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees

Learn more and RSVP: https://linktr.ee/mvpeoplesactionalliance
Livestream of meeting: https://www.facebook.com/mvpeoplesactionalliance
RSVP for updates: https://mobilize.us/s/3iL1A7
Share/Invite https://www.facebook.com/events/1021062027451939

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TODAY'S PROGRAM
Facilitator: Norm Wernet, President, Ohio Alliance of Retired Americans

1:00	Doors open - resource tables, refreshments and conversation
2:00	Welcome, purpose and ground rules
2:10	Medicare and Medicaid at 61
2:13	Health-care stories: coverage, hospital closure and a physician's view
2:28	Social Security: what it protects and how to strengthen it
2:30	Housing: rising costs, lost services and displacement
2:54	From stories to action
3:00	Community stories and questions
3:25	Next steps and closing

WHY WE ARE HERE
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were built because people organized around a simple promise: after a lifetime of work, illness, disability or age should not erase a person's security or dignity.

Today we connect lived experience to public decisions - and public decisions to the action we can take together.

WITH THANKS TO OUR RESOURCE-TABLE PARTNERS

Black Voters Matter Direction Home of Eastern Ohio Trumbull County Veteran’s Service Commission

League of Women Voters Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program – OSHIIP Trumbull Community Action Program

Direction Home of Eastern Ohio

AND MUCH APPRECIATION FOR DONATIONS FROM
        Westside Bowl & Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans

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VOICES FROM OUR VALLEY

Policy becomes real in people's lives. These four storytellers show what is at stake - and why change cannot wait.

VALLEY RETIREE - A widowed retiree four years from Medicare, Dot is navigating rising ACA premiums and deductibles, medical debt, and surgery she cannot afford to complete.

TOM CONNELLY - President of AFSCME Local 2026, the nurses' union at Trumbull Regional Medical Center, Tom speaks to the human cost of a community hospital's collapse.

JANET SHILEY, MD - A physician offering a front-line view of affordability, access, and what a growing health-care desert means for Valley patients.

RESIDENT OF THE VALLEY - A 74-year-old Warren resident facing a $145 monthly rent increase, deteriorating conditions, and lost services in her 55-plus housing community.

YOUR STORY MATTERS
At 3:00 PM, the floor is yours. Tell us what happened, what needs to change, and who has the power to act. Your experience can help another person feel less alone - and help move a decision-maker.

Persistence works. Decades of pressure from retirees and workers helped win Medicare’s authority to negotiate certain prescription-drug prices, and we can prevail again.

Thank you for being here today!

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One story starts a conversation. Calls, emails, rallies and votes make that conversation harder to ignore.

☐	CALL one elected official within 48 hours.
☐	EMAIL your own story and ask for a written response.
☐	SHOW UP at the next rally, town hall or public meeting - and bring someone.
☐	VOTE on Tuesday, November 3, 2026 - and help two other people make a plan.

FOUR CLEAR ASKS FOR CONGRESS

1. Tell the House to pass S. 2120 the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act (OAA), continuing critical programs and funding.

2. Restore enhanced ACA premium tax credits (H.R. 247 or H.R. 5145).

3. Protect housing, utility assistance, Medicare and Medicaid from cuts.

4. Strengthen Social Security and require high earners to contribute more of their wages (H.R. 9519; S. 770/H.R. 1700). AKA “Scrap The Cap”.

A 30-SECOND MESSAGE

"My name is __________, and I live in ZIP code ________. I am asking you to protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, ACA coverage, housing and utility help. This matters to me because __________. What will you do?"

CALL OHIO'S MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Sen. Jon Husted (202) 224-3353 maggie_ward @husted.senate.gov
Sen. Bernie Moreno (202)224-2315 andrew_rothe@moreno.senate.gov
Rep. Michael Rulli, OH-6 (202) 225-5705 ryan.culross@mail.house.gov
Rep. David Joyce, OH-14 (202) 225-5731 ashley.roberts@mail.house.gov
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Find your officials and a calling script: 5Calls.org
Make a voting plan: VoteOhio.gov

STAY CONNECTED
Sign up to be alerted to actions, events & occasional news https://bit.ly/MVPAAalerts or  https://linktr.ee/mvpeoplesactionalliance
Contact Mahoning Valley People’s Action Alliance:
mvpeoplesactionalliance@gmail.com

MY NEXT ACTION
    I will:


    I will do it by (date):
   The person I will invite or help vote:

Keep this program where you will see it.
Then follow through.