Loyola student core team meets with State Rep. Kelly Cassidy

A group of six students from the CCH core team at Loyola University met Feb. 17 with State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago.) We initiated the meeting to talk about state budget cuts to homeless youth programs and to ask her support in preventing further cuts.

Each student held a different role in the meeting, discussing past budget cuts, giving personal testimonies, and asking for Rep. Cassidy’s opinion and experience with these issues. Rep. Cassidy was very open with her own experiences and passions, and committed to join us as students in fighting to stop more cuts to homeless youth programs.

In addition, she agreed to write a letter to House Speaker Michael Madigan to ask for his support in stopping these cuts. She encouraged us to get in contact with other legislators and make personal connections with them.

We students felt our meeting was successful because it fostered support for CCH and helped us begin an important relationship with Rep. Cassidy. She was very receptive to what we had to say and agreed to work with us to prevent further cuts. We hope to have continued success as we meet with other legislators serving Chicago’s far North Side.
– Taylor Tefft, a freshman double major in Sociology, and Advocacy and Social Change, Loyola University