On Aug. 29, residents from across the tri-state area gathered in Port Jervis at West Main and Hudson Streets to say no to war at a Rally for Justice at Home and Abroad. The rally was followed by a roadside protest along West Main and Pike Streets.
The rally was organized by Port Jervis Indivisible and co-sponsored by Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America (MHVDSA) and Veterans for Peace.
“People are fed up with a reckless war that is costing billions of taxpayer dollars while cuts have been made to healthcare and food programs and people can’t find housing they can afford,” said Dolores Schaefer, one of the organizers. “A rally is one way to make our voices heard,” she said.
To address the impact of the war on food insecurity, participants were encouraged to bring donations of nonperishable food, pet food, and personal care items for MHVDSA’s Port Jervis Food Pantry, which distributes these donations at its monthly food pantry and supplements the inventories.