FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 9, 2024
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One Country Project Releases Platform to Secure Our Communities' Safety and Well-Being
In the second of six Rural Playbook releases, OCP outlines policies that seek to bolster rural residents’ sense of safety and well-being in their own community.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, One Country Project (OCP) released new policy points of its 2024 Rural Playbook. The Rural Playbook equips Democrats in rural areas with critical facts and talking points to connect with rural voters. The second of six editions, Securing Our Communities' Safety and Well-Being, shares how supporting mental health care, providing treatment plans for substance use disorders, and addressing immigration and crime can build physical health and ease community members’ minds about the security of their neighbors.
Families in rural America are wrestling with the question of safety, as hospital closures have disrupted communities grappling with a mental health crisis and rising substance use disorders. On top of this, national politicians have fanned the flames of fear over uncertainty about immigration and crime. Policymakers need to take tangible steps to address the root causes of these challenges in order to create a sense of security within rural American communities.
“Rural communities deserve to feel safe and secure in their own communities,” said OCP founder and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp. “In order to bolster rural resident’s sense of safety and well-being, we must move policies forward that support mental health care, provide resources for substance use disorders, and address immigration and crime.”
In Securing Our Communities' Safety and Well-Being, One Country Project outlines talking points that support:
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Access to rural health care which not only ensures the health and well-being of friends and neighbors, but is also an economic driver in communities;
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Addressing mental health and preventing poor outcomes in rural America;
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Ensuring the wide availability of mental health and addiction treatments to improve the current crisis; and
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Real solutions to address immigration and prevent crime to ensure communities' safety.
Read Securing Communities' Safety and Well-Being.
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About One Country Project
Rural America holds an essential role in moving the United States forward and the One Country Project is dedicated to ensuring rural America’s priorities and values are heard and reflected in policy at the federal level. To learn more, visit us at www.onecountryproject.com or on Twitter or Facebook.