Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

September 4, 2006

Speak Up For Your Health

Part of Governor Richardson's 5-point plan to increase health care coverage in New Mexico was the formation of the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee. This group is tasked with studying and recommending the best model for providing health care for every New Mexican. Universal health care has long been a goal of NM Voices, and is the focus of our work with the Health Care for All Campaign.

The Health Coverage Committee is holding hearings, one of which will allow for input from the public. Please consider attending this meeting (it's on Sept. 27) to let the committee know how important universal health care is to you. If you can't attend a meeting, please consider letting the governor know how happy you are to see the state taking steps to reform the health care system.

What You Can Do:

• Attend the Sept. 27 committee meeting, 3pm to 7pm, in room 322 of the State Capitol in Santa Fe.
• Contact the governor to let him know that you support universal access and the need to control the rising cost of health care, by sending an email via his website: www.governor.state.nm.us or calling 476-2200.
• Sign up to get on the email list to find out what is happening with the Committee, by emailing RubyAnn Esquibel at Rubyann.esquibel@state.nm.us
  

Giving Payday Lenders the Pink Slip

New Mexico's Legislature has so far failed to pass any meaningful regulation over payday lenders, and the executive branch just had its regs tossed out in court. Now there's talk in Congress about going after predatory lenders - but only about how they do business with military personnel.

Payday lenders target military bases because our servicemen and women often earn wages too low to support a family. These unscrupulous lenders offer quick cash loans with astronomical interest rates that easily trap people into an endless hole of debt.

While we applaud any efforts to regulate payday lenders, we question the morality of protecting our servicemen and women but not the rest of our working poor.

What You Can Do:

• Contact your congressional representatives and tell them you want payday regulations to cover every American citizen - not just a chosen few.
• Email Rep. Heather Wilson (Dist. 1) via a form at http://www.wilson.house.gov
• Email Rep. Steve Pearce (Dist. 2) via a form at http://www.pearce.house.gov
• Email Rep. Tom Udall (Dist. 3) via a form at http://www.tomudall.house.gov
• Email Senator Pete Domenici via a form at http://www.domenici.senate.gov
• Email Senator Jeff Bingaman at senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
  

Mentoring and Cultural Competency

As those of you who have been attending the Race Matters task force meetings, you know cultural competency is a hot - and very important - topic. Such training is especially important in mentorship programs, which is why MENTOR (www.mentoring.org) has launched a new initiative.

The group is looking for mentoring programs interested in working on Phase II of this initiative. Selected groups would complete a survey identifying their cultural competency strengths and weaknesses.

If you belong to a mentoring group that you think might be interested in participating, email: NMI.DiversityToolkit@mentoring.org.

Call for Nominations

Know a New Mexico child or teen who's making a difference in his or her community through philanthropic work? Nominate him/her for the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award. Winners will be chosen in three age groups, and will be honored at a luncheon and receive great prizes. For a nomination form and contest rules, email Robin Brule at RBrule@cnm.edu or call her at 505-244-4685. Nominations must be postmarked by Sept. 18, 2006.