SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Sullivan County residents are asking how they can help their neighbors.
A member of a local network group asked what community groups are organizing in …
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SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Sullivan County residents are asking how they can help their neighbors.
A member of a local network group asked what community groups are organizing in solidarity with marginalized members of the Sullivan County community after President Donald Trump issued dozens of executive orders since taking office.
One organization that is working to advocate and protect populations in the county that could be or are affected by Trump’s executive orders is Sullivan Allies Leading Together (SALT). The organization works to address food access and drug addiction and to promote equity and justice in the county. See more at saltcares.com/.
Marty Colavito, chair of SALT, said the organization’s Committee for Equity and Justice (CEJ) has been doing outreach in Sullivan as a direct response to Trump’s executive orders launching a nationwide crackdown on immigration.
Colavito says it’s important for people to understand their legal rights and has been handing out Know Your Rights cards in the county. SALT also connects people to resources for pro bono legal services by calling SALT at 845/397-7258.
SALT has also partnered with a new organization in the county, Trans Support NY PA (TSI), that provides gender-affirming safe spaces for trans+ community members, family, and friends. See more at transsupportnypa.org/.
Colavito has been in the “activist game” for 45-plus years and says, “I’ve never seen it like this. These are unprecedented times. I care because it could affect these folks. Now, it’s such a systemic breed of hatred and entropy.”
He adds, “I do believe hope is in the womb and good stuff is happening and we have to stay diligent. People have to decide if they’re on the side of their neighbor or on the side of a destroyed political paradigm,” he says. “I think a lot of people are deciding to be neighbors.”
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