April 16, 2021
Friends,
I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. I am writing to connect with you about some upcoming events and a few important legislative and community updates below.
Also, I want you to know that I have been working for many months with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop a bill package to address police accountability and transparency. I know that recent police shootings of unarmed people of color around the country have impacted so many of us, and I will keep working as hard as I can to ensure that we address failings in our justice system. We hope to introduce these bills in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more information.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. – Environmental Justice Town Hall
Please join me and Rep. Abraham Aiyash to talk about environmental justice issues in our community and what we are working on to address them. Special guests include Nick Leonard, executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and Justin Onwenu, environmental justice organizer for the Sierra Club.
>> To join the conversation, please visit Facebook.com/StephanieChangMI.
Friday, April 30 at 4:00 p.m. – Virtual Coffee Hour
Please join me for a virtual coffee hour to hear about what Team Chang has been up to in Senate District 1.
>> For more information, please visit Facebook.com/StephanieChangMI or register to receive the information to join the Zoom meeting here.
VACCINE INFORMATION
Everyone who is age 16 and up is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine!
Wayne County
The Wayne County Health Department is expanding eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine at clinics in Wayne County Community College-Taylor and Schoolcraft College in Livonia to residents and workers (aged 16 or older) from Ecorse and River Rouge.
Appointments are available by calling 1-866-610-3885, between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- For more information, please visit the Wayne County COVID-19 vaccine website.
- Click here for more information and sign up for the Ford Field location. Please note that an ID is NOT required at this location.
For Trenton, Gibraltar, Riverview, Rockwood, Woodhaven Residents
The Westfield Activities Center at 2700 Westfield Road, Trenton, MI 48183 will also be administering vaccines on Saturday, April 17th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 734-493-3821. No walk-ins will be accepted at this location.
For Detroit Residents
Call (313) 230-0505 to schedule an appointment at the TCF Center, one of the Community Saturday events, or one of the neighborhood vaccination sites. On Friday, April 16, there will be a neighborhood site at East English Village Preparatory Academy.
COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Ford Field in Detroit
Michiganders can now register and receive their COVID-19 vaccination at Ford Field in Detroit. The clinic is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., seven days a week. The vaccine at this clinic is offered at no cost and insurance will not be requested at the site. Appointments must be made in advance.
After the registration process is completed, people who have registered will receive an invitation when it’s their turn to schedule the appointment. Vaccine appointments will be scheduled a few days in advance.
How to register
All COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Sign-up is available through these three options:
- Online at meijer.com/register/CL2021
- Text EndCOVID to 75049
- Call the MDHHS COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1)
Residents who don’t have access to the internet or need assistance navigating the registration process can use the MDHHS COVID-19 Hotline to register. Call Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is expected the call center will have long wait times, so calling is recommended only people who cannot register online or by text.
PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM TO VOTE
As you may have read by now, my Republican colleagues have introduced a 39-bill package of legislation aimed at making it more difficult to vote. And that’s not just my opinion — others who have also read the bills and done the analysis agree.
Fortunately, some of Michigan’s largest job-creators are also opposed to these efforts to limit the rights of the people of Michigan. Of course, I’ll keep advocating for your freedom to vote and speaking up about the harm that these voter suppression bills would do.
AG NESSEL CONTINUES COMMITMENT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION WITH INFORMATIVE VIDEOS
To ensure Michiganders remain hypervigilant about protecting themselves from bad actors seeking to steal personal information, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced another series of informative and humorous videos focused on consumer protection.
Upon taking office, Nessel made a commitment to prioritize consumer protection in the Department of Attorney General and has continued to do so throughout the pandemic.
In the first video, Nessel stresses the importance of knowing how to spot an illegal robocall.
The second video focuses on imposter scams where bad actors typically insist that you owe money and in order to avoid further issues, you must pay them in gift cards.
Scammers spoof local phone numbers in the hopes that it will motivate the victim to answer the phone. In the video, Attorney General Nessel shares key tips on how to deal with robocalls:
- Don’t answer robocalls but if you do, hang up immediately.
- Verify someone is who they say they are by hanging up and calling them on the phone number you know to be correct.
- Utilize call-blocking apps or services your phone provider may offer.
- NEVER provide your personal information — including your birthdate, Social Security Number, address, or bank account/credit card information — to a stranger who unexpectedly calls you.
- And remember, never fulfill a request for gift cards or other nontraditional payments to a caller.
Michigan’s Robocall Crackdown Team is working hard to combat illegal robocallers and continues to collaborate with state and federal partners. For tips on how to spot and stop illegal robocalls and hear recorded examples, visit the Attorney General’s robocall webpage.
More videos will be posted periodically on the Department’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and a host of resources are always available by visiting the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection webpage.
Attorney General Nessel wants all Michiganders to remember that your connection to consumer protection is just a click or phone call away. Consumer complaints can be filed online at the Attorney General’s website, or by calling 877-765-8388.
COVID EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority has released federal funds available to help tenants facing pandemic-related hardships avoid eviction through the COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program. To learn more about the program and apply, please visit COVID CERA–Wayne Metro or Michigan.gov/MSHDA.
FEMA COVID-19 FUNERAL ASSISTANCE
Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. For more information and how to apply please visit FEMA.gov.
Thank you for reading this update. As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (517) 373-7346 or senschang@senate.michigan.gov if we can assist you in any way.
Stay safe, 
Stephanie Chang
State Senator
District 1