Helga Luest - Candidate, State Delegate, District 18

The Activist - Montgomery County, Maryland & Beyond

You’ll Learn About:

BIO

• Elected at age 18 to Democratic Party County Committee Seat
• Facilitating Social Change
• Founded Witness Justice / Ran it for 14 years
• As a crime victim; recognized there were many gaps in publicly funded programs / systems
• Federal Advocacy work (Addiction Treatment, Jail Diversion, Addressing Trauma for Crime Survivors)
• • Led to advocacy for addressing trauma for a lot of issue

FINANCING CAMPAIGN

• So far all funding from private citizens
• On systemic bias to support candidates who have raised the most money
• • Without money, despite principled positions, you don’t get endorsements

PRIORITIES

• Safety & Civility
• • Upticks in bullying, school violence, vandalism since Trump election

ENVIRONMENT

• We are in a climate emergency; potential effects
• • Agriculture
  • DC Underwater
• Need to use clean / green energy
• Key: Must educate the community
• Key: Get the right incentives / penalties
• Launched own low carbon emissions efforts
• • Not doing yard signs since they aren’t recyclable / biodegradable
• Need to reduce carbon footprints / carbon emissions
• Emergency Preparedness
• • Every state / city should have a chief resilience officer (for severe weather)
• Transport (Green Options)

EDUCATION

• School system is still punitive; there are better ways to solve these issues
• • Restorative Justice
  • Understand what is wrong with kids that act out / not just punishing
  • Other states have had success:
  • • Social / Emotional Learning

JEFF WALDSTREICHER INCIDENT

• Suggested Helga run in the state Senate race before to do him a favor and split the vote in the Senate race
• Says that Waldstreicher lied on the record to Bethesda beat with an indirect legal threat to Luest

SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL LEARNING IN SCHOOLS

• Kids / teachers become more aware of their emotions
• Restorative Justice Approach
• • Witnesses, victim, perpetrator all discuss the issue to build understanding
• Empowering kids to take simple actions can drastically reduce bullying
• Expand curriculum to cover many more religions to reflect diversity in Montgomery County
• • Religious bullying is one of the biggest types of bullying
• The data says these techniques work
• There are lots of opportunities in Maryland to borrow from other jurisdictions with successful programs

TRAUMA INFORMED CARE

• Holistic approach on where trauma came from, treating it and preventative approaches to many issues
• How childhood trauma lessens life spans
• Trauma prevention is key for a health society
• Opioid Abuse
• • Not only affects individuals but also effects:
  • • Kids w/ opioid addicted parents
    • Foster Care System

SERVING VICTIMS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

• Much more is needed than just crisis intervention
• CAIR Coalition Collapse in Montgomery County (Deportation Defense)

IMPROVING VOTING ACCESS / AWARENESS

• Systemic issues figuring out for whom to vote

AMAZON HQ2 IMPACT