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6 June 9  2016

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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copyright 2016 Detroit Jewish News

T

his winter, Detroit Jews for Justice 
(DJJ) asked ourselves, Why is 
it time to care? We wanted to 
inspire our Jewish community to action 
on an issue we feel profoundly reflects our 
values. When we learned that almost half of 
all private sector workers don
t receive paid 
sick leave, and that single 
mothers and people of 
color are disproportion-
ately affected by this lack 
of rights, we knew that it 
was time to act. 
Inspired by our tradi-
tion and refusing to accept 
the status quo, we set an 
ambitious goal to collect 
1,000 signatures for the 
MI Time To Care campaign.

Jews have a very proud history of leader-
ship in the Labor Movement,
 said our direc-
tor, Rabbi Alana Alpert. 
We see this work as 
a continuation of a sacred legacy.
 
DJJ Organizing Team leaders Nora 
Feldhusen and Oren Brandvain said, There 
are people in the Jewish community who are 
directly affected by this issue, particularly 

those who are low- 
income, women and 
people of color.
 
Beyond contributing to the success of 
an important cause, DJJ also felt that our 
participation in the ballot initiative provided 
many opportunities for Metro Detroit Jews 
and Jewish institutions to gain organizing 
experience and to build relationships both 
inside and outside of DJJ.
We did it! 
We rallied 50 leaders to circulate the peti-
tion, surpassing our goal in fewer than three 
months. Our leaders went to local institu-
tions and events (Jewish and non- 
Jewish) 
to gather signatures on 22 occasions. In 
addition, we hosted five educational pro-
grams on Time to Care in partnership with 
local Jewish communities, including events 
at local synagogues and private homes. At 
these programs, we discussed the history of 
DJJ and our mission, offered background on 

earned sick time and the ballot initiative, col-
lected signatures and trained circulators.
We have been thrilled by the success of 
our Time to Care efforts and particularly 
proud that it has helped us achieve our 
goal of showing emerging DJJ leaders and 
our broader Jewish community what social 
action that addresses racial and economic 
injustice can look like. 
Next fall, we will continue our commit-
ment to the Time to Care campaign, pend-
ing the issue getting on the ballot. We will 
engage members of the local Jewish commu-
nity in Time to Care educational program-
ming and recruit volunteers for Get Out the 
Vote activities preceding the election. 
We hope you
ll join us  because it is 
time to care! *

Blair Nosan is program director for Detroit Jews 

for Justice, www.detroitjewsforjustice.org.

Blair Nosan

Eleanor Gamalski gets folks to sign 

the 
Time to Care
 petitions as part of 

a Purim spiel.

guest column

It
s Time To Care

Alyah 

Al-azem, 

Nora 

Feldhusen 

and S 
am 

Levinson 

signing 

petitions

commentary

Regional Transit Needed Now
I 

never want to have to tell 
someone, 
Sorry, we can
t help 
you. Yet the number of those 
looking for a daily ride to their job 
 the number we have to turn 
away  is startling. 
In most cities around the coun-
try, seniors, people with disabili-
ties and anyone without a vehicle 
can count on regional public tran-
sit to get them to work and their 
daily appointments. This, how-
ever, is not the case in Southeast 
Michigan, where too often severely discon-
nected and underfunded regional transit 
is unable to meet the needs of the most 
vulnerable population.
As part of Jewish Family Service of 
Metropolitan Detroit
s mission to strength-
en lives in Southeast Michigan, we offer 
door-to-door and cross-county rides. We 
are one of a few services like this and see 
an overwhelming demand of people who 
simply cannot easily or quickly get where 
they need to go. 
We, unfortunately, just can
t meet all the 
demand, as over 60 percent of our time is 
booked with standing appointments for 
people who need to get to an adult day 

program or rehabilitation facil-
ity multiple times a week. We are 
struggling with finding another 
provider to refer our clients to 
when we are unable to schedule 
the ride, as most of our riders 
need door-through-door assis-
tance, rarely offered anywhere 
else.
Many people who rely on 
regional transit to maintain their 
independence are negatively 
impacted by the disjointed system 
in Southeast Michigan. They often cannot 
rely on public transit if they need to travel 
across county lines, such as from Oakland 
to Wayne for a doctor
s appointment. 
It
s not just seniors and people with dis-
abilities or workers who are struggling. 
Our services depend on a team of com-
mitted volunteers. That commitment to 
making a difference is sometimes unfairly 
challenged by unreliable regional transit. 
We are regularly forced to travel and pick 
up our volunteers because they do not 
have access to connected regional transit 
to get them to us, especially if they live in 
a different county or even township than 
they volunteer in.

Connected public transit in Southeast 
Michigan is about increasing access and 
opportunity for everyone. According to the 
Brookings Institution, 78 percent of jobs 
in Southeast Michigan cannot be reached 
within 90 minutes on public transit. That
s 
simply unacceptable.
We can and must do better. That
s why 
we have joined A Coalition for Transit 
(ACT) to stand with others in Southeast 
Michigan and say 
enough! We need 
strong, connected regional transit across 
our four counties  Oakland, Wayne, 
Macomb and Washtenaw. 
No one should ever be unable to get to 
their job, a doctor
s appointment or the 
grocery store. The people we strive so hard 
to serve  and the future growth and 
vitality of our region  are counting on us 
to get this right. 
Please visit www.acoalitionfortransit.
com today to learn more and get involved. 
Together, we can make frequent, reliable 
and connected regional transit a reality in 
Southeast Michigan. *

Yuliya Gaydayenko, LMSW, MA, is senior director 

of Older Adult Services at Jewish Family Service of 

Metropolitan Detroit.

Yuliya 

Gaydayenko, 

LMSW, MA


