Last Chance: Encourage Bullock to Veto SB97

by Adam Hendrickson

SB 97 is on the Governor’s desk!

WE NEED YOU TO ENCOURAGE HIM TO VETO THIS BILL!

SB97 Passed through both the Senate and the House during this session and landed on Governor Bullock’s desk on March 27th. We need to make sure our voice is heard by encouraging the Governor to veto this bill.

This is URGENT. We only have a couple days to accomplish this goal! Please call and/or email Governor Bullock and encourage him to veto SB 97.  

By Phone
406-444-3111
Toll Free: 855-318-1330

By Email (please fill out the form)
https://governor.mt.gov/Home/Contact/shareopinion

Already, our calls and effort have not gone unnoticed! The report from the Legislative Committees shows a 3:4 call ratio in opposition to the bill and dozens of people packed the gallery in a strong show of solidarity with our Muslim friends and neighbors! But there are only a couple days left for Bullock to decide to veto this bill, so we are not quite done yet!

More info on the bill in this older post (with an older “ask” so make sure you are calling the numbers above for the Governor, not the Legislative committee as in this link).

Thank you all for your support!

Save the Date! First Annual Missoula World Refugee Day Cup – June 17th

by Adam Hendrickson

What?!?!  That’s right folks!  If there are 3 things we have found that unite communities across all cultures, it is soccer, food, and music!  So, in honor of World Refugee Day, we decided to bring you all three!

While we work out details with our partners, we wanted to be able to at least give you the date, June 17th, and a general idea of times to mark on your calendars. Know that it will be a round-robin tourney-style event starting in the morning with 7 v. 7  games all day. The championship game will more than likely start around 4:30/5, followed by dinner and music.

This whole day will be family friendly and take place out on our newest fields at Fort Missoula Regional Park. There is a pavilion with a playground near by, we will have an impromptu kiddos tourney at some point and we will of course have to break out the face paints! So many more details to follow, including how to register for this first annual event – we are just so excited we had to share now!!!!

If you or someone you know would be interested in helping to sponsor this event, please contact info@softlandingmissoula.org to start that conversation.  Thanks!

Supporter Stories: Mike Stark (1/2)

by Adam Hendrickson


“(Working with the family), it made some of the difficulties and hardships that these families are going through, whether they are here or in Europe or Africa, wherever they are, very real and very tangible. A lot of times when I think of a refugee or read a story in the newspaper, or see something on television about these people, migrants or refugees, whether their boat is capsizing while crossing the Mediterranean, or any of them dying, or they are stuck in a refugee camp for ten years, I have a concept of what that struggle is like and I can sympathize with it. But it’s not realistic. So helping these people in their day to day lives, whether it’s giving them a ride to church, or sitting down with them for a cup of coffee or whatever it is, it’s so normal that it’s… that normalcy is very impactful in a way. 

“It really drives it home because they are real people and they have real needs. It’s not that they are in immediate danger, but they have lives, dreams, and wishes, whether its helping them find a job or get to the dentist, whatever it is.” 

– Mike Stark, Investment Advisor at S.G. Long in Missoula, Montana, and Mentor Leader at IRC

—

Photo and interview by @elliott_natz.

For the next 12 weeks I will be posting images alongside portions of interviews I’ve conducted. The subjects of the photos are volunteers involved in groups helping refugees from around the world find a safe and fulfilling life in Missoula, MT. This project aims to show how involved our community is in creating a welcoming city, and how the lives of volunteers and community members have been positively impacted by inviting diverse new neighbors into our lives.

Please join us to get to know some of the people in Missoula that are helping make the lives of new people to our community a little easier.

Thank you!

by Adam Hendrickson


Thank you to the crew who moved our newest family into their apartment last week. We appreciate your hard work, time and friendship!

Thank you to the crew who moved our newest family into their apartment last week. We appreciate your hard work, time and friendship!

SB 97 Update and More

by Adam Hendrickson

SB 97 Will Head to Governor

We need you to encourage him to veto this bill!

Yesterday, SB 97 hit the house floor–hard. Even though we lost the vote during the second reading yesterday, our calls and effort have not gone unnoticed! The report from the Legislative Committees shows a 3:4 call ratio in opposition to the bill and dozens of people packed the gallery in a strong show of solidarity with our Muslim friends and neighbors (photo below)! Despite our effort, the bill will more than likely pass in the final vote today. So, we are not quite done yet!


Photo from ACLU of Montana.

Photo from ACLU of Montana.

The bill will probably hit Governor Bullock’s desk this afternoon and we need to work hard to help the Governor decide to VETO this bill. This is URGENT. We only have a couple days to accomplish this goal!

Please call and/or email Governor Bullock and encourage him to veto SB 97.  

By phone
406-444-3111
Toll Free: 855-318-1330

By email (please fill out the form)
https://governor.mt.gov/Home/Contact/shareopinion

Huge thank you to all of our partners on the ground in Helena, especially the ACLU, MHRN, and MAC, and of course, the incredible volunteers who spent part of their weekend making calls that resulted in such a great showing yesterday!

– In love and gratitude, Mary Poole

P.S. Please don’t forget to check out the ever changing list of most important needsfor our families! Up now: vacuum cleaners and dressers!

Livestream Recording of Eritrea Lecture

We want to send out a huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Soft Landing Missoula Presents! Eritrea event on March 8th, 2017! It was a busy night in Missoula and we so appreciate your joining us! Special thanks to our fantastic sponsors UM’s African-American Studies Program, UM’s Political Science Department, and Montana Model UN, and to our two fabulous speakers: Kimberly A. Maynard, Ph.D. and Solomon M. Gofie, Ph.D. Watch the lifestream recording!

Giving Back this Wednesday & Thursday: Helmer Family Chiropractic

Check out the amazing business that came to us with this idea to give back! If you have been thinking about needing to get in some where for an adjustment, this Wednesday (March 22) or Thursday (March 23) might just be the day! Details and contact information.

Finding Common Ground

Watch this inspiring video from WelcomingRefugees.org. “Stay-at-home mom Becca Clary found common ground with Sudanese refugee Fatima Bakhit through a cultural exchange program at Kentucky Refugee Ministries. Not only has Becca helped Fatima feel welcome in her new home and learn English, she also has gained a friend…We may not all share the same history, but we share one future.”

Giving Back this Wednesday & Thursday: Helmer Family Chiropractic

by Adam Hendrickson

Check out the amazing business that came to us with this idea to give back! If you have been thinking about needing to get in some where for an adjustment, Wednesday or Thursday might just be the day! Here are the details from their Facebook event:

“We have your BACK and are giving BACK to celebrate the long awaited arrival of SPRING! WEDNESDAY, March 22nd and THURSDAY, March 23rd ALL ADJUSTMENTS* will be on a donation basis. The money will go to SOFT LANDING MISSOULA. 

“Suggested donation for established patients: $10-$20. For new patients: $20-$30. However, give what you want or what you can. CALL TO RESERVE YOUR APPOINTMENT TIME 406.830.3333. *cannot apply to Personal Injury or Workers’ Comp patients”

 

CALL TO ACTION! SB 97 Vote on Monday

by Adam Hendrickson

We need you!

The date for the vote on SB 97 is set for Monday March 20th at 12:30p in the Helena State Capitol Building.  We are asking people to show up, wearing gray, to pack the House gallery for the vote and show our support for our Muslim friends and neighbors–those who have enriched our community for years, and those who have recently found a home here!

FB Event for more info and to SHARE is:
 here: https://www.facebook.com/events/165224300659479/

This is spring break and many folks will be out of town so if you can’t make it, please consider calling and expressing your opposition to SB 97!

Call the legislative switchboard at (406) 444-4800 and ask to leave a message for the House Judiciary Committee. Tell them to vote no on SB 97!

Please remember to wear gray if you can make it!

Thank you for your support!

Read more details about SB 97.