I want to talk about priorities, because I think a lot of Floridians are asking the same question I am right now. Our state just committed $2.5 million in taxpayer money to put a president's name on a Palm Beach airport. Fourteen minutes away, Compass Community Center — one of the oldest LGBTQ+ centers in Florida — asked for $308,000 to fix a broken air conditioning system. They were denied. That's not a policy disagreement. That's a community health center that serves real Floridians being left to swelter while we spend nearly ten times that amount on a sign.
Compass isn't some outside organization. It's a local institution that provides mental health services, youth programs, and crisis support to people in our community — people who are already having a harder time right now. When that air conditioning fails in a Florida summer, it's not an inconvenience. It's a health emergency. Seniors, young people, and people in crisis can't just "come back when it's cooler." And when centers like this close or cut services, families lose a safety net that the state certainly isn't replacing.
I'm asking you to fight to restore the $308,000 grant that Compass Community Center was denied and push back on the budget choices that made this possible in the first place. This community deserves the same investment of public dollars that everyone else gets.
Please make sure Compass gets the funding it needs to keep its doors open and its people safe.
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