7 months ago
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Nearly 200 Arkansas kids let their hand made posters tell their story. They're signs with a very loud message. One reads, "I need a health care bailout. Another says, "I'm a smart investment."
Child advocate Beverly Divers-White explains, "These young people want you to hear their concerns and become advocates with and for them."
Divers-White along with Renee Wilburn is working to be their voice.
"A healthy body means that you have a healthy mind," Wilburn explains.
Those 200 kids traveled to the State Capitol Monday from Marianna, Gould, Marvell and Elaine. They're all part of the Children's Defense Fund Freedom Schools. Each year, the kids have a different platform. This year its health care reform.
The rally includes drawing attention to comprehensive, affordable and seamless coverage for all children and pregnant women.
Wilburn says,"That helps them grow into adulthood. That helps them be the people that god intended them to be."
To make that happen, federal funding allows for more than half a million children in Arkansas to receive coverage each year. Plus, recently there's been a funding expansion for children whose families are between 200 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty level. But even with the change there are more than five million children in the U.S. are still uninsured. That is 70,000 in Arkansas.
"We have families that are just $5 or $10 over the guidelines to get the Our Kids which means that those children are doing without the healthcare that they need to be able to move forward in life," says Wilburn.
It's a complex issue from some of the smallest Arkansans. It's one they may not fully grasp, but still it's one they shout for, hoping it brings change.
To read facts about the heath care reform click here. To learn more about what is in it for Kids and families click here.
