Dear Neighbors,

September means students have headed back to school, Michigan’s seasons are changing and apple crops are harvested. There is so much to enjoy about autumn in Michigan. As your state representative, I also enjoy serving the needs of the residents of the 28th House District. I continue to enact policies that spur innovation in our economy and support our public schools in providing high-quality public education.

If you need assistance or resources, please reach out to me and my staff. To learn more about resources, events and recent efforts in Lansing, visit my website at stone.housedems.com. I can be contacted at my office phone number (517) 373-1772, and my official email is LoriStone@house.mi.gov.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Lori M. Stone

State Representative, 28th House District

In This Issue:

  • Community Conversations
  • Legislative Update
  • BUILD INITIATIVE: Project Accelerate
  • Welcome Back to School
  • Suicide Prevention Month
  • National Preparedness Month
  • Discounts on Phone & Internet Service
  • Fostering Futures Scholarship

Community Conversations

Join me at an upcoming Community Conversation for an update from Lansing Saturday, Sept. 17, from 11 a.m. to noon. Community participation is encouraged — please bring your questions and concerns. I am looking forward to hearing from you. This is an opportunity to connect on issues impacting our community. Information events and resources can also be found on my Facebook Page or at stone.housedems.com.

DATE: Saturday, Sept. 17 

LOCATION: Dorothy M. Bush Library, 23333 Ryan Road in Warren

TIME: 11 a.m. to noon

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Upcoming Community Conversations:

  • Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to noon 
  • LOCATION: Center Line Library, 7345 Weingartz St. in Center Line
  • Saturday, Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to noon
  • LOCATION: Kuhnhenn Brewing,  5919 Chicago Road in Warren

Legislative Update

House Democrats unveiled the MI Pocketbook Plan, our economic agenda to bolster household finances, protect workers and provide tax relief to seniors and working families. The six-bill package provides Michiganders the best tools to combat rising costs, keep more of their earnings come tax season,  and guard against payroll fraud and the outsourcing of jobs.

BUILD INITIATIVE: Project Accelerate

In Lansing, I have been working to reframe the understanding that a career in the trades is a career path to a good earning and rewarding career. Not to mention, Michigan’s labor workers provide the talented workforce that our economy needs in order to continue building and maintaining business and infrastructure.

In August, I participated in a tour of a construction site at Northern Michigan University. I met with workers and contractors, visited the Tilden mine to learn about the process from iron extraction to iron refinery at an open pit mine, and toured the Carpenters and Millwrights Training Facility during the program in Marquette. Project Accelerate BUILD Initiative is dedicated to adding women and other underrepresented minorities to the ranks of workforce talent in construction, engineering, design and the trades.

Welcome Back to School

School staff throughout our community have spent many hours preparing to welcome students back from summer break! Another school year’s hard work of learning has begun for our youth. Attendance and parent involvement are essential to student success. During the 2022-23 school year, the fall pupil membership count will be conducted on Oct. 5. Michiganders have made historic investments in our children’s future because we understand the value of education.

September is Suicide Prevention Month

If you or a loved one is having trouble coping with sadness, depression, stress or anxiety, or feel suicidal, please talk with someone who can help. Call 988 or find online chat here.

Additional resources available for addressing mental health include:

Suicides are preventable deaths, and they require individual and collective efforts to prevent. You are not alone!

September is National Preparedness Month

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Does your household have what it needs to make it for several days in the event of a disaster? Disability Network Eastern Michigan’s Information & Referral Specialists can guide you through the development of an emergency preparedness plan for your unique needs. They can also help you set up a Smart911 profile, so first responders have access to crucial information to help you more quickly in an emergency. For more information about planning for emergencies, call (586) 268-4060, ext. 6625.

Discounts on Phone & Internet Service

Internet Service has replaced the White Pages and the Yellow Pages in most communities. Internet access is an essential service that may seem unaffordable or inaccessible for some people in our community. Lifeline is a state and federal program that provides discounted voice or broadband service to veterans, seniors and low-income residents in Michigan. Lifeline provides income-eligible people under age 65 a minimum monthly discount on their bill of $8.25. Those 65 years old and older receive a discount of $12.35. For more information, click here.

To qualify for the state program, a Michigan customer must have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal poverty level or participate in one of these programs:

  • Medicaid.
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8).
  • Tribal Eligibility Programs (and living on federally recognized Tribal lands).
  • Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension Program.

Fostering Futures Scholarship

About 10,500 youth are in the Michigan foster care system. While as many as 75% of foster youth express a desire to attend college, fewer than 10% enroll in college after high school and fewer than 3% eventually earn a degree. The Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund provides former foster care students who may not have family support or financial resources to attend college, with a scholarship. Michigan students who experienced foster care can receive college scholarships through the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund.