BY KERISTOFER SERYANI

Special to the Westside Connect

At United Way of Stanislaus County, we don’t play politics—we focus on people. For nearly 75 years, we’ve stood with communities through crises and breakthroughs alike. Today, we’re facing a moment of crisis that demands attention, compassion and courage.

The “Big Beautiful Bill,” recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and under consideration in the Senate, presents a dangerously misleading name. Behind the title is a sweeping piece of legislation that would dismantle the safety nets keeping families in Stanislaus County—and across the country—fed, housed, healthy and hopeful.

This bill proposes deep cuts to core programs like Medicaid, SNAP (formerly called food stamps) and the Child Tax Credit. These are not handouts—they’re ladders that allow families to stabilize during hardship, help kids show up ready to learn and support seniors as they age with dignity. If this bill passes, those ladders could be kicked out from under thousands in our community.

The Local Reality

In Stanislaus County:

• 240,000+ residents rely on Medi-Cal for health coverage, including low-income children, seniors, people with disabilities and working parents.

• 44,000+ individuals in our county receive support through SNAP to put food on the table each month, including children, veterans and individuals working full-time jobs who still can’t make ends meet.

• Thousands of local families benefit from the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit—programs proven to reduce child poverty and improve long-term education and employment outcomes.

Without these supports, cost burdens will not disappear—they will shift and land on local emergency rooms, shelters, food banks and underfunded clinics. They will strain the already stretched nonprofit and faith-based sectors, our community’s final line of defense.

These Are Real People, Not Statistics

We spoke to a Modesto mother who said the Child Tax Credit was the difference between buying gas for work and skipping meals. In Paterson, a young boy with a congenital heart condition receives life-saving specialist care through Medi-Cal—care his family couldn’t otherwise afford. A Ceres student depends on school meals and food pantries to keep hunger at bay.

These stories echo what we hear every day. These programs don’t just “make life easier”—they keep people alive, working, learning and moving forward.

The Bigger Picture

The Congressional Budget Office estimates nearly 11 million Americans could lose health coverage if this bill becomes law. Yale and University of Pennsylvania studies project 51,000+ additional deaths annually due to rollback of public health coverage. That’s not abstract—it’s tragic and avoidable.

When Medicaid funding is slashed, rural hospitals shutter, mental health clinics reduce services and school nurses vanish. When SNAP is cut, kids go hungry and learning suffers. When tax credits are rolled back, families fall behind on rent, utilities and child care.

A Call to Action

This isn’t a partisan issue—it’s a human one. We can’t stay silent. We urge every Stanislaus County resident who believes in dignity, equity and opportunity to take action:

Call your U.S. Senators and ask them to oppose the “Big Beautiful Bill” as it stands. Visit www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member to find your representatives.

Tell them: “These cuts would hurt my community. They would increase hunger, homelessness and hardship in Stanislaus County. We need support, not abandonment.”

Budgets are moral documents. They show us what we value. This bill, as written, values austerity over lives, cuts over care, and cost-saving over community. There’s a better path—one grounded in compassion, evidence and what we know works.

United Way of Stanislaus County will keep fighting for solutions that uplift rather than undermine, protect rather than punish, and serve the people who make this region strong.

But we can’t do it alone. Your voice and your story matter. Together, we can protect what matters most.

— Keristofer Seryani is the President and CEO of the United Way of Stanislaus County.