MPA summer field canvassers visit area

    PRESQUE ISLE – If a stranger from away knocks on your door this week, it could be a representative of the Maine People’s Alliance. The non-profit group will canvass households in Presque Isle, Caribou, Mars Hill and Fort Fairfield this week.     The Maine People’s Alliance is a non-profit, multi-issue, citizen action organization with over 28,000 members. MPA’s purpose is to involve citizens in democracy and to strengthen individual participation in decision-making processes that affect each of our lives. They are dedicated to working on issues associated with economic, environmental, political, and social justice.
    For 25 years, MPA has used the power of door-to-door field organizing to win campaigns for the people of Maine. Every year, we speak to thousands of Mainers about critical issues affecting the state. In recent years, MPA activists have canvassed on a variety of issues including the protection of Social Security and the reduction of toxic chemicals in consumer products.
    This summer the canvass is working to achieve Universal Single Payer Health Care in Maine. One-fifth of Mainers cannot afford to get medical assistance due to the skyrocketing price of health insurance premiums and the high out-of-pocket costs pushed on consumers through rising deductibles and co-pays. This problem is striking Maine especially hard due to the large number of Mainers that rely on small businesses for employment — small businesses which have to pay higher prices every year for less and less coverage. The Universal Single Payer Health Care plan solves this problem by eliminating administrative waste in the system and effectively providing health care through a non-profit, citizen-owned program based right here in the state. Health care should be a right for all Mainers rather than a privilege for only those who can afford it.
    “Going door-to-door is grassroots activism at its most exciting,” said canvasser Sam Rioux. “Along the way to engaging citizens in the political process, canvassers get to have meaningful conversations with Mainers and learn about the issues that affect their lives. Hearing the shocking stories from people affected by unfair health insurance prices, for example, further inspires our canvassers to inform citizens about the plan to make health care not only universally guaranteed but also non-profit.”
    For more information on MPA and the Universal Single-Payer Health Care campaign, visit www.mainepeoplesalliance.org.