Official Government Communication Dear Friend, Welcome to my email newsletter. There is a lot happening at the State Capitol and it is my hope that this email will help you stay in touch with your government. As your Senator, I truly believe in public service. If there is anything my office can do to assist you, please feel free to contact us. Here to serve, Sen. Lena Taylor 4th District Addressing racial disparities at UW-Madison Recently, UW-Madison took steps to address racial disparities and discrimination. After a series of racially charged incidents on UW Madison’s campus, the University is rolling out a cultural competency program called Our Wisconsin. The program, still in its pilot stage, looks to create a more inclusive UW by educating students about their backgrounds have shaped their perceptions and how their actions can affect others of different backgrounds. If effective, we may see this program come to UW-Milwaukee and spread through the rest of Wisconsin. Get the lead out After the crisis in Flint Michigan came to National Attention, many communities, Milwaukee included, had turned their eyes onto their own lead problems. Lead in drinking water is a massive problem in older Milwaukee homes.  The side effects that lead can cause on developing children cannot be understated. Lead exposure has been connected to everything from teen pregnancy, to poor impulse control, to high crime. Knowing this, and the fact that in 2014, 8.6% of Milwaukee children were found to have toxic levels of lead in their blood, is it any wonder that our community suffers from such a wide variety of problems? The fires that burned Milwaukee last month were not the product of an isolated incident; no they were the product of systematic injustice and inequality. Lead is a big piece of those injustices that have built up over the years, and by working to eradicate it, we could work to eradicate a significant number of our problems. If you know a child under six-years-old, help them get tested for lead. Medicaid-Enrolled children can get tested for free. If your house is shown to have lead in the pipes, buy a filter. How are we treating our vets? If there’s one thing both sides of the aisle can agree on, it’s that Veterans deserve our respect. Those who have served our country have deserved to be held in high regard, and as politicians, we should make sure that they are treated well in regards to services and healthcare, especially our elderly veterans. However, in Wisconsin, we recently learned that we’ve got a lot of work to do to improve care of our veterans. King Veteran’s home, one of state run Veteran’s homes, recently reported gross neglect, including delayed service, poor care and lead tainted water. To make matters worse, it has been shown that the money the home is making off its residents isn’t even going back to them; instead it is being funneled into salaries and other homes. Our Veterans have given us their service fully; We should do the same for them. SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH: When it comes to health in this country, we often overlook one of the most crucial parts of our own bodies; our own brains. While mental health may not be the first aspect of healthy living on one’s mind, being mentally healthy is crucial to not only mental well-being, but to your physical well-being, In America, one in five adults struggle with some form of mental illness, and far too many of them are being let down by our health care system. Last year suicide was the 10^th leading cause of death for Americans, and the fact we could have some of them still with us today if we had helped them receive proper treatment is something that weighs heavily on my mind. People from all walks of life can struggle with a mental illness, and as a community, we should give them the resources they need to fight back.	Stay in touch: Email: Sen.Taylor@legis.wi.gov     Milwaukee:  414-342-7176     Madison:     608-266-5810 Community Events:
	Quote of the Week: "The Wisconsin experience demonstrates that a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement, which undermine rather than enhance confidence in elections, particularly in minority communities." -U.S. District Judge James Peterson on Wisconsin Voter I.D Laws. This is an official government communication from Sen. Lena C. Taylor. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click here to send me an email to unsubscribe.