​The Democrat Women of Mercer County welcomed Chaz Rice, director of the Mercer County Coalition for Drug Awareness (MCCDA) and the ROAR Center (Removing Obstacles to Assist Recovery), to their November meeting. There is a crisis of addiction in Mercer County. MCCDA is a non-profit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and helping people recover from drug and alcohol addiction with support, education, and healthy alternatives to drug use. Their latest project is RAE of HOPE, a group sober living home to help those coming out of rehab or incarceration get back into society. DWMC voted to donate $100 to the project. The GoFundMe page is RAE of HOPE Helping Others. Learn more at www.roarcentermccda.org.
DWMC business included the election of Deborah Roberson as President and re-election of Donna Piroga as Secretary, along with expressions of gratitude to Kim Powell who stepped down as President after years of service. Members set goals for the year, including the need to encourage others to join and work to preserve democracy in this critical election cycle. Upcoming events include a holiday party, book club on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays, packing boxes at the Community Food Warehouse, and a Primary Petitions Signing event at the Mannechor Club on January 7.

​The October meeting of the Democrat Women of Mercer County highlighted the importance of making our votes count in the November 7th election for local offices and statewide judicial offices. Members were encouraged to help educate voters to fill out their mail-in ballots correctly and to pay attention to the how many candidates they can vote for in each race.  In a past election, 350 ballots were not counted because the voter made a mistake when voting by mail. Ballots must be marked with blue or black ink and sealed in the secrecy envelope; then, the secrecy envelope must be sealed into the return envelope. It is essential to sign and date the return envelope with the day one is voting, NOT one’s birthday. If voters have any questions or problems, they can get advice, or even a ride, through the Democrat Women of Mercer County, PA Facebook page.
Voters should also know that the Planned Parenthood PA PAC has endorsed Judge Dan McCaffery, Judge Timika Lane, Jill Beck, and Judge Matt Wolf as the candidates that will protect women's health care choices and reproductive freedoms, and that they can vote for both Lane and Beck for Superior Court.
In School Board races, voters can find out the actual party affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot as both Democrat and Republican by going to PADems.com/candidates and searching by their street address.
The meeting closed with plans to Get Out The Vote for Democratic candidates.

July’s meeting was centered around taking action. Members wrote letters to State Sen. Michelle Brooks asking her to support several important pieces of legislation, including the Fairness Act (equal protections for members of the LGBTQ community) and the Patient Safety Act (safe staffing ratios for nurses).
We also brainstormed letter to the editor ideas and ways to research topics and talking points, resulting in several letters being submitted to local papers during the meeting.
Members were asked to support the Mercer County Democrat Party at DemStock on Aug. 11 and 12 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. DemStock is an opportunity for rural Democrats to work together and share ideas, as well as meet candidates and help their campaigns.
The Mercer County Democratic Party will be selling lunch items on Saturday of the event and DWMC Members can help by attending, working the lunch counter, or donating lunch supplies in advance. DemStock will also be collecting socks to donate to a local shelter. For tickets and more information, visit www.demstock.net.