As of January 20, Donald Trump is president of the United States. What does that mean to our clients? We wanted to find out.
In anticipation of this new administration — especially after a tumultuous election season — we asked our community to share personal messages with the president about their hopes, fears, and priorities. These important conversations culminated in our new video campaign, Dear Donald Trump: Are You Listening?, which highlights the diverse voices of Harlem United clients and staff.
Watch the video for yourself:
Our clients opened up about the very real challenges they face every day: HIV/AIDS, homelessness, disability, discrimination, and countless others. With the help of programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, people with chronic health conditions can access reliable health care like never before. But many of our clients expressed fear that these life-saving programs are at stake under the new administration.
“I would ask you to reconsider cutting any type of Medicaid funds,” said one client, Yonce, in her message to Trump, “because without a program like this, there’s no way that we’re going to really survive.”
Our video has already reached more than 100,000 people on Facebook in a matter of days, and we look forward to continuing the conversation in the weeks to come. We also invite you to share your own messages for the president and stay tuned in to Harlem United’s work defending health care and housing for all.
We don’t know if President Trump will ever see our video, or if he knows about us at all. But it’s important that we share our mess
ages with our own community to let them know that we’re here, we see them, we hear them, and we’re fighting for them.
As Yonce said in an interview with A&U Magazine about the campaign: “I decided to participate in Harlem United’s video because I immediately thought about transgender youth. I think it is important for them to see an older transgender woman, like myself, who is succeeding in life and who is positive.”
Another client, Cornelius, echoed her sentiments in an interview with The Body: “Anybody who has any concerns with regards to where America is going should advocate, protest, write Congress, do whatever they need to do to make sure that our voices are heard.”
