To: Honorable Members of the Michigan State Legislature
The undersigned health professionals express our strong support for passage of the water affordability bills pending in the Senate and House (SBs 549-553 and SB 25 and HBs 5088-5093). We urge State Senators and House Representatives to pass the bills and send them to Governor Whitmer for her signature.
Clean, accessible drinking water is a necessity of life. It keeps human bodies hydrated, cool, and functioning on a warming earth. It is also vital to control the spread of viruses and diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor called for a restoration of water service to disconnected homes and the legislature followed with a moratorium on water shutoffs during a critical period of public health fears, illness, and loss of life.
In Michigan, water bills have become unaffordable for many residents, thereby, leading many people to choose which bills to pay. Households may have to decide between cutting back on medication, groceries or housing costs. We also know that patients will sometimes defer necessary healthcare if they cannot afford co-pays, premiums, and prescriptions.
Water insecurity can also cause immense mental health stress and physical harm when families self-ration water to reduce household bills. Water disconnections can lead to terrible health consequences that affect student performance, worker productivity, and family safety. Overdue water bills may be transferred to property taxes and can lead to home foreclosures. Water shutoffs are also grounds for children to be removed from their parents or guardians by the state.
The Water Affordability bill package will protect the health of our residents by providing water bills that customers can afford to pay, plus eliminate dire consequences. A new Critical Care Customers category will protect medically-documented vulnerable residents from water shutoffs regardless of their income.
As health professionals, we call on you to ensure access to clean, affordable water and sanitation for Michiganders. Water is a human need and right. Over a decade ago, a bipartisan legislature voted to help low-income residents pay their heating and energy costs with the MEAP program. It is time to do the same for water and sanitation by passing Water Affordability legislation.
A summary of the bills and more information about water affordability in Michigan can be found at MIWaterPlan.com
(Please sign below, alphabetized by location)
- Ruth Kaleniecki,
Allen Park, Henry Ford Health, LMSW
- Charlie Sears, Berkely, Retired Social Worker
- Linda Remington, Beverly Hills, Karmanos Cancer Institute
- Dr. Paul von Oeyen, Bloomfield Hills, Retired High-Risk Obstetrician, Beaumont University Hospital
- Margaret Savage, Dearborn, Registered Nurse
- Davis Ippel, Dearborn, VP Ambulatory Services, Oakwood Health System
- Dr. Clara G. Zundel, Detroit, Behavioral Neuroscientist, Wayne State University School of Medicine
- Michael Simon, Detroit, Professor of Oncology and Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University
- Zoe Steinfield,
Detroit,
Clinical Social Worker
- Caitlin Fleming, ,
Detroit, Licensed Professional Counselor
- Susan Newell, Detroit, Retired Nurse
- Trish Hubbell,
Detroit, Project Community Health, community engagement managerDetroit,
- Devarsh Desai,
Detroit, Medical Assistant, Trinity Health Primary Care
- Mary Ellen Howard, BSN, MA,
Detroit, Retired Nurse & Healthcare Administrator
- Rachel Levy,
Detroit and Ferndale,
LLMSW, clinical social worker
- Brittany Whitaker,
Eastpointe,
LMSW
- Moss Herberholz,
Ferndale, LLMSW Therapist, The Radical Well-Being Center
- Florence Monnier,
Ferndale,
OTR, MS
- Elena Brand, PhD,
Farmington Hills, Clinical Psychologist
- Maureen Anthony,
Grosse Pointe Woods, Registered Nurse
- Barbara Burkhardt,
Leland, Chaplain, NACC, Retired
- Nancy Ruhl, Livonia, Registered Nurse
- Kathleen Lapinski, Muskegon, retired Public Health Nurse (40 years)
- Kristina Schumacher, Northville, MI,
Psychotherapist, Radical Well-Being Center
- Mary Beck,
Northville Township,
Retired Psychotherapist - MA, LLP, LMSW
- Yoland Davis, RN, Oak Park, Retired Public Health Nurse
- John Dubosh,
Plymouth,
Retired Social Worker and Psychologist
- Diane Weckerle, Royal Oak, Retired Public Health Nurse, Detroit and Wayne County
- Elisabeth Burrell, RN, Southfield, Retired, Providence Hospital
- Janet Moody, RN, Southfield, Retired, Infection Prevention
- Kathleen Smith, Southfield, Registered Dietitian
- Secret Mitchell,
Sterling Heights, Mi, Macomb County,
LLMSW, Clinical Social Worker, Radical Well-being Center
- Carolyn Allen, Taylor, Registered Nurse
- Emily Gordon, West Bloomfield, JFS Detroit
- Wendy Wilder, West Bloomfield, Registered Nurse
- Philip Gilly, MD, Westland, Physician
- Rev. Alex Plum, CEO, Ypsilanti, Corner Health Center