Pima County District 5 Newsletter - Issue 4

Pima County District 5 Supervisor Betty Villegas  

Welcome to the October Newsletter for the office of Pima County Supervisor, Betty Villegas. Below you will find important updates and resources. Please fell free to distribute the link to this page as you find helpful to the communities that you live in and serve.

Renaming Mission Library for Richard Elías

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, October 20, will consider a resolution to rename the Mission Library for the late District Five Supervisor Richard Elías. The new name for the library, 3770 S. Mission Road, would be Richard Elías Mission Library. 

Richard Elías was the District Five Supervisor for more than 18 years, beginning with his appointment to the seat in February 2002. He was a truly remarkable elected official who cared deeply about his native Tucson and Pima County and made sure even the most destitute among us were accounted for and treated fairly. He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on March 28.

Supervisor Villegas was appointed to fill out Richard’s term, which expires in early January. She was a dear friend of Richard and worked closely with him on affordable housing issues for many years. She shares Richard’s approach to political action and discourse. She proposed the library renaming for Richard when she was appointed in April and since then has promoted this action.

The Mission Library Is in District Five and will be subject of a $6 million renovation and expansion to 50 percent more than its current size. The expanded facility will include tributes in honor of Richard and his legacy.

The Board meeting will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20, in the Pima County Administration Building, 130 W. Congress. Temperature checks, face coverings and physical spacing are mandatory. 

Ballot Propositions 208 and 481

Supervisor Villegas urges you to vote “Yes” this election on Propositions 208 and 481, both of which will provide additional funding for teachers, school support workers, and student services.

Proposition 208 is a statewide initiative that would increase the income tax on wealthy people to provide an estimated $112 million a year for kindergarten through grade 12 public schools. The tax levy would be 3.5 percent of a tax filer’s annual income above $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a married couple. 

The State would distribute the funds collected from this source according to this formula:

• Fifty percent for salaries to benefit teachers and classroom support staff members, with administrators barred from getting any of this money.
• Twenty-five percent for salaries to benefit services staff members (custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, etc.).
• Twelve percent to benefit career and technical education programs.
• Ten percent will support teacher mentoring and retention programs. 
• Three percent support Arizona Teachers Academy, which provides college tuition to students seeking teaching degrees who agree to work in Arizona schools after graduation.

Proposition 481 would change the base budget formula of Pima Community College to allow it to spend more money on teacher and staff members’ salaries instead of on buildings and property. The language adjusts the formula, so Pima Community College would have the same per-student amount to spend on operations each year as the average of the other community colleges in Arizona. 

Proposition 481 will not raise taxes but would enable the college to use $10 million to $15 million more a year to hire new teachers and support staff members.  The change will also increase pay to retain existing experienced teachers, support staff members, and improve current student services. The State Legislature has stripped all funding from Pima County and Maricopa County community colleges, and Proposition 481 will provide some much-needed relief to Pima Community College. 
 
VOTE YES ON 481 AND 208

National Period Day in Pima County 

At the October 6th, 2020 Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Betty Villegas proclaimed October 10th to be "National Period Day in Pima County." YWCA of Southern Arizona CEO Magdalena Verdugo as well as the CEO of the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona's CEO, Shannon Roberts accepted the proclamation. 

2020 Menstrual Product Donation Drive

On October 10th, 2020, 11,000 individual products were donated to the drive!

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The Month of October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  

Download the calendar of activities to find different opportunities to participate with emerge and raise awareness about domestic abuse. 

In honor of the Paint Pima Purple Campaign of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and encourages all Pima County residents to wear an article of purple clothing or a purple ribbon on Wear Purple Day to raise awareness of domestic abuse, to stand in solidarity with domestic abuse victims, and to support an end to the epidemic of domestic violence.

Happy Halloween!

The CDC provided the following recommended for a low risk Halloween celebration:

Dia De Los Muertos

The CDC provided the following recommendations for a low risk Dia De Los Muertos celebration:

• Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors, especially those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and
• delivering them in a way that doesn’t involve contact with others
• Playing music in your home that your deceased loved ones enjoyed
• Making and decorating masks or making an altar for the deceased
• Setting out pillows and blankets in your home for the deceased
• Joining a virtual get-together celebration

Read more about celebrating safely during the pandemic here.

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Honoring Silviana Wood 

Supervisor Villegas will sponsor a Board of Supervisors proclamation on October 20, 2020 honoring noted local playwright Silviana Wood for her many years of unique work producing meaningful and relevant theater. Much of it focused on Mexican American women in the Borderlands. 
Silviana, who has been writing and appearing in theatrical productions since the 1980s, is the first and so far only Arizona-based Chicana playwright to have a published anthology of her plays, Barrio Dreams (2016, University of Arizona Press).  
She has won awards and widespread acclaim for her works, which address social justice, oppression, gender and sexuality, linguistic marginalization, and class. 
Besides having a fulfilling career as a playwright, Silviana has been an activist, a single mother, a social worker, a college instructor, a performer, and a director. She is a proud Tucsonense native,  raised in Barrio Anita, and earned multiple degrees from the University of Arizona.

 

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Rental, Utility, and Mortgage Assistance

What tenants need to know During COVID-19 Pima County has hired 25 temporary workers to assist in expediting rental assistance applications. Please apply for rental or mortgage assistance by clicking here.  Pima County Community Action Agency has non-COVID-19 related rental assistance as well as utility and other assistance available.  Call the hotline at (520) 724-2667 between 8:30 am and 10:30 am Monday through Friday for information.
For missing social security cards
For missing birth certificate

 

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Voting Information

The deadline to register to vote for the November 3, 2020 election is October 23, 2020. To register to vote, find your polling place, or check the status of your voter registration, please click here.

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is October 23, 2020. You can do so by clicking here.  If you are already registered to vote and have requested your mail-in ballot, please share this information with your family, friends, and on your social media platforms. 

Supervisor Villegas Supports Voting Site on Pascua Yaqui Reservation

In early August, the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council requested Supervisor Villegas’ help restoring an early voting ballot location on its reservation southwest of Tucson and in her district, after Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez rejected its request. Supervisor Villegas believes we should do all we can to promote voter participation in our elections and worked for weeks to get this site, which was in place for the elections from 2010 through 2016, restored. Despite many efforts, and a majority Board of Supervisors vote for her resolution to restore the early balloting site, Ms. Rodriguez has refused to cooperate. State law requires county recorders to operate or provide essential equipment and information for such sites. The Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council is considering legal action against Ms. Rodriguez.

Supervisor Villegas is mentioned in The Center for Public Integrity article, "How One Tribe is Fighting to Vote Early," regarding her willingness to work with Pima County record Ann Rodriquez and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in restoring the early voting site on the reservation. 

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Covid-19 Updates and Resources

Free Pop-up Testing

 

Location	Date and Time
Rising Star Baptist Church 2800 E. 36th St., Tucson, AZ 85713	Oct 17th, 2020 8 am - 12 pm
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church 850 N. 11th Ave., Tucson, AZ 85705	Oct. 24, 2020 8 am - 12 pm
St. John the Evangelist Catholic - Casa San Juan 602 W. Ajo Way, Tucson, AZ 85713	Oct. 27, 2020 7:30 am - 12:30 pm

Free Mask Distribution Event by the City of Tucson 

 

Saturday, Oct. 17, 8-10 a.m. Mission Manor Park, 5900 S. 12th Ave. Adult and child sizes will be available, and the child-size has adjustable ear loops that can easily fit a small adult. Masks will be provided throughout the event or until they have all been distributed. The event will be set up as drive-thru, where community members can drive up to the site, advise how many masks they need, and the masks will be passed out. Bike-up and walk-up requests are also welcome.

 

Contact Tracing and Care Coordination

An authorized person (Contact Tracer) will contact anyone whose test is positive for COVID-19 virus. This contact is a vital part of the Pima County Health Department’s work to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control in our area. Department specialists (Contact Tracers) meet with people who test positive for the COVID-19 virus and:

• Provide support and resources for anyone testing positive and must isolate themselves for 14 days.
• Work with COVID-19 positive individuals to help Identify anyone they had contact over the last few days.
• Find and reach out to the contacts identified to get them tested for the virus and advise them on how to proceed if they test positive. 
• Keep all this information confidential. 

Diligent contact tracing has proven to be an effective way to bring the spread of this potentially deadly virus under control in many countries worldwide. It appears to be helping the Pima County Health Department make progress on COVID-19 control.  We ask you to please cooperate with contact tracers if you or someone you know has become infected with the virus.  Your cooperation will help us all end this pandemic.

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Free Mammograms 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

El Rio will be offering free mammograms screenings on every Wednesday (October 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th) during the month of October. You must be 40 years older, have no current breast problems, and not had a mammogram within the last year. 

Screenings will be available at these locations:

Congress Health Center 
839 W Congress St. Tucson, AZ 85745 (520) 670-3909

Cherrybell Health Center 
1230 S. Cherrybell Stavenue Tucson, AZ 85713 (520) 670-3909
 
Southeast Health Center  6950 E. Golf Links Rd. Tucson, AZ 85730 (520) 309-2289

 

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October 2020 Tucson Meet Yourself "Reframed"

Throughout the month of October, Tucson Meet Yourself Folklife Festival will have online and onsite activities including over 15 to-go food vendors. Click here to see their calendar of events!

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Mental Health

October 4-10 is Mental Illness Awareness Week. This is a national public education campaign designed to help raise the awareness of mental illness and reduce the harmful effects of stigma. This year's theme, What People with Mental Illness Want You to Know, is part of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ (NAMI) larger campaign, You Are Not Alone that features the stories of people affected by mental illness to fight stigma, inspires others and educates the broader public. 

If you or someone you are ever experiencing a mental health crisis, please do not hesitate to reach out for help. Call –866 495-6735
Prevention is key to managing you mental health, and every one of us needs to practice self-care. Please visit namisa.org to find the resources you need. 

Mental health is part of ALL of our overall well-being. It is often misunderstood, misrepresented, and stigmatized. This leads to fear and causes people to hide their mental health concerns, even preventing or delaying them from seeking help. It takes an average of 11 years for someone to seek treatment for a mental health concern.

The Pima County Community Mental Health and Addiction Department has free training opportunities that are currently grant funded. You can click on a flyer below to learn more about the Community Mental Health and Addiction Program, resources for crisis situations, the Mental Health First Aid Training program for Adults and for Youth, and the Strengthening Families Program. You can also go to their website for more information about these programs, and to learn about additional programs they have to offer the community free of charge. 

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2020 Census

Important funding for the communities that we live in depend on our response to the 2020 Census. WE ARE NOT INVISIBLE! Answer the United States 2020 Census questionnaire today. Talk to your family, friends, and neighbors about answering their Census questionnaires. September 30th, 2020 is that last day to respond!

The 2020 Census will determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding every year, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade. Census data informs federal funding for more than 100 programs, including school lunches, highway construction, and education.

October 31st is the last day to respond to the 2020 Census. You can respond online by clicking here, or by phone at (844) 330-2020.

There are alternative phone numbers to respond in various languages. You can access them by clicking here. 

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Contact the District 5 Office of Supervisor Betty Villegas

If you have any questions or would like to see additional content added here in the future, please do not hesitate to contact our office: Office: (520) 724-8126  Email: district5@pima.gov Fax: (520) 884-1152 You can also contact District 5 staff directly:
Keith Bagwell
Marjava Ramirez
Nahrin Jabro
Amanda Monroy