WI Member takes Political action in pursuit of her passion

This Fall the BC Government invited presentations from the public to a Select All Party Committee for the BC Legislature on Finance whose mandate was to develop priorities for next year’s budget.Helen Overnes, Oliver WI, saw an opportunity! No stranger to political action (see Helen’s bio on pg 81 100 Women of the BCWI) she appealed to her MLA for a chance to speak to this committee and was given an appointment.On September, 26^th 2016 Helen gave a video presentation to the committee. She addressed many issues revolving around poverty and disability, and was invited by the committee to send in background documents and sources. This individual action was for Helen a natural follow through on an issue that she brought forward to BCWI members.  Our 2016 Resolution requests an increase in the Disability and Social Assistance pension to reflect the cost of living increase since 2007.A fleshed out version of Helen’s presentation appeared in the section called Letter’s to the Editor of The Chronicle, an Oliver BC newspaper, on October 12^th 2016. The circumstances she describes are not only frustrating but desperate, and until changes are made she will be persistent in petitioning our elected officials. Helen encourages all WI members to debate and discuss these issues with their MLAs and other elected officials.For more information check out the following links:https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg1https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg2https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg12