Leader Lori Lutz wrote an incredible op ed for the Jewish News connecting the water main break in the suburbs to a larger regional crisis, including water shutoffs in Detroit. Read an excerpt below and check out the full article here. Learn more about how to support our water work and fight for state-level policy solutions at www.detroitjewsforjustice.org/water.
As a white, college-educated (without debt), employed Bloomfield Township resident, I enjoy: hosting sleepovers for my daughters and their friends; knowing that even if we lose power or water, the municipality will make the necessary repairs; not having to choose between paying the water bill or the electric bill this month and knowing that if I inadvertently skip a bill, I can call the utility company and ask to have any penalty waived and even if they don’t, that I have the means to pay it; and knowing that arriving late at work (as I did last week) won’t jeopardize my job. What to me seemed like a temporary inconvenience averted last week is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to so many families in Detroit (and Flint)--having to figure out how to make it through the day without the certainty of accessible and affordable water.
Lori Lutz is a resident of Bloomfield Township. She has been a core leader of Detroit Jews for Justice for two years.