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 People Power takes down Medicaid Work Requirement!
Plus, we’re keeping the pressure on to lower drug costs now.
INDIANA — Everyone’s life is sacred. No matter how much is in your bank account, Hoosier families—black, Latino, white—should get the care they need when they fall sick. And because of YOU, we are one step closer to this reality. Yielding to community pressure, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb suspended the Medicaid Work Requirement, restoring hope for as many as 88,000 Hoosiers who rely on Medicaid for their healthcare.
This victory demonstrates the power of people coming together from all walks of life. Faith in Indiana, Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, Hoosier Action and many more organized our communities to talk with legislators, hold vigils and activate hundreds of supporters, while Indiana Legal Services filed a suit to block Indiana’s burdensome Medicaid rules in court. The power of our message—Healthcare for All, no exceptions—keeps growing stronger.
 MARION COUNTY — On World Diabetes Day (Nov. 14) faith leaders, doctors and people living with diabetes gathered outside Eli Lilly Corporation in Indianapolis to hold a ‘Prayer for Affordable Insulin Now,’ urging the pharmaceutical company to put people over profits and lower the cost of insulin and other life-saving medications.
“Whether its diabetes or cancer, no one should have to choose between medicine or putting food on the table,” says Audrey Davis, Faith in Indiana healthcare organizer. “Congress can fix this and make sure everyone has access to affordable drugs by curbing the drug corporations’ excess profits and requiring them to negotiate lower prices.”
Last year, Eli Lily raked in $598 million in profits and didn’t pay a dime in federal taxes, while one in four Americans who rely on insulin went without or skipped doses because of they simply couldn’t afford the rising prices of their medication.
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 #FaithVOTERS! And the winner is YOU!
INDIANA — In the municipal election on Nov. 5, voter turn-out increased in ALL of the counties where Faith in Indiana led voter-engagement efforts. That’s incredible! It shows that our work pays off, and it makes it clear that the real winners in every election are YOU and your fellow Faith in Indiana leaders!
Just one example, in Plymouth, Ind. (Marshall County), Faith in Indiana leaders brought the concerns of the Latino community to the candidates for mayor. The bipartisan forum lifted up solutions the next mayor could take to ensure public safety, including instituting a municipal ID program, like the one already in place in Goshen, Ind. Faith in Indiana chapters held public events and souls-to-the-polls sabbaths, and encouraged #FaithVoters to vote their values on Election Day.
In every county, we look forward to working with both incumbents and newly elected members of both parties to advance the Families First Agenda. The work continues!
 FaithIN clergy listen as David Muhammed shares proven examples of gun-violence intervention programs from around the country.
Proven tactics, teaching from national experts move the FaithIN gun-violence intervention program forward
Marion County — In November, Faith in Indianapolis clergy and the Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Office of Public Health and Safety co-hosted the first site-visit with David Muhammad, executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR). Over the two days, Muhammad met with law enforcement, service providers and criminal-justice partners to identify steps to strengthen the work already underway on the road to fully implement Group Violence Intervention (GVI), the nation’s most effective strategy to dramatically drop homicides.
The visit is part of a set of victories aimed to scale-up successful efforts to reduce gun violence across the state. At the October ‘Peace South Bend,’ Mayor Pete Buttigieg and the city’s Common Council President Tim Scott committed to fully fund GVI Peacemaker Fellowships in 2020. Faith in St. Joseph County drew Buttigieg’s and Scott’s commitments during a Town Hall meeting in October.
“Mayor Buttigieg and the Common Council took giant steps to restore safety to black and brown communities,” says Rev. Gilbert Washington, FaithIN pastor of St. Paul Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in South Bend. “As a pastor who has grieved with too many families suffering irreparable loss, I assure you, we won’t back down until the Peacemaker platform is fully implemented.”
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 Together we give!
We’re gearing up for 2020! We accomplished a lot together this year, and next year will be a game-changer to restore democracy, to advance racial and economic justice and to build unity across the diversity of Indiana. All of our state lawmakers will be running for office. Voters will get to make decisions about our governor, senators and representatives—shaping the next budget and the rules of our democracy for the next generation.
With your financial support, we’ll make sure the priorities of women, people of color, and young people shape the debate and lead to real change after Election Day.
Will you consider giving $20 a month, and be a Together We Give Sustainer?
Your $20 monthly donation will make it possible to:
- Hold 20 deep conversations with voters ignored by other campaigns
- Send an aspiring leader to week-long organizing training
- Amplify our message of an ‘Everyone Belongs, Every Family Thrives’ Indiana
Will you also please share this link with five of your friends, colleagues, neighbors or fellow parishioners? https://give.faithinaction.org/team/faithinindiana
Our goal is to raise $8,000 by Dec. 19! Thank you for contributing to a more just and equal Indiana in 2020 and beyond!
Brief Updates
We are thankful for…
…our newest board members.
- Francisco Chavez, St. Philip Neri Cathoic Church, Marion County
- Dennis Doyle, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Allen County
- Fr. John Korscmar, St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Marshall County
- Michele Mattice, St. Monica Catholic Church, Marion County
- Fr. Tom Metzger, Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Hamilton County
- Olivia Reynoso, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Marion County
- Rev. Karen Staton, Destiny Life Center, Allen County
- Rev. Gilbert Washington, St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, St. Joseph County
- Rev. Richard Willoughby, Promise Land Christian Church, Marion County
…faith’s power as a political unifier.
Faith in Indiana is one of five inaugural grantees of the new Faith In/And Democracy project, funded by Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), the Fetzer Institute and others. The grant was awarded to organizations who focus on interfaith work toward a healthier democracy.
Recognizing the divisive time of our current democracy, Faith In/And Democracy is choosing to amplify Faith in Indiana’s work to “take on racial polarization by fostering dialogue between faith communities and training clergy to shift the public conversation.”
We thank PACE, the Fetzer Institute and the remaining funders for helping “advance an optimistic narrative that the moral framework of religious faith can offset tribal fear mongering and promote a better democracy.” Read more about how the grantors envision “religion as an antidote to democracy’s ills.”
We are hiring!
Read the job descriptions and apply online by clicking on the position of interest:
Coming Soon: Mark Your Calendars
Click dates with links to view meeting times and locations. Watch your email for updated information as events draw closer. For other important dates, visit the FaithIN calendar.
Allen County
St. Joseph County
Marion County
Other Dates
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