When I was 7, my dad was in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Everytime we took him outside my family and I would have to pick him up and carry him the six steps outside of our house. 1/

After seeing us struggle to carry him again and again, one of our neighbors asked why we didn’t build a wheelchair ramp. The answer was simple: we couldn’t afford one. The next week they came to our home and built one for us.

Looking back, that moment made me a progressive. 2/

I’m a progressive because I believe that communities should take care of their most vulnerable members. Because our strength should be measured by our willingness to help those around us, not by a self-serving accumulation of wealth and power. 3/

I’m a progressive because I believe that it’s the government’s job to invest in people to guarantee that no crisis deprives us of the chance to make something of ourselves. 4/

I’m a progressive because sometimes helping a family going through hard times is all they need to succeed. Every day I wheeled my father out of our house and instead of having to carry him, I felt my community lifting me up. Every kid deserves to feel that support. 5/5