To the editor:

It is with great regret that I announce The Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment is disbanding.

The Unity Council was meant to bring the fighters in our communities, from Ohio and PA, together after the derailment. The council was designed to have our voices heard, information share, divide workload, and find answers. It was never meant to be a voice for every community member, as not all were impacted in the same ways. It was meant to be a voice for the concerned.

However, as time has gone on, it has been made evident that what our concerns are, others do not care about. We are just another part of the disaster others want to forget or pretend doesn’t exist.

Our intentions were never money or fame but to love our neighbors as ourselves and to listen to the concerns that others have, to help one another. We hope that more people will do the same and the community can be brought back together. We hope people will learn to be there for each other regardless of differing opinions. We have all experienced something that no other community should have to go through. We need to understand and support each other.

Even though the Unity Council is disbanding, we will not have our voices silenced. What we feel and go through is real and cannot be ignored or forgotten. We will continue to be here to listen, lend an ear when someone needs it because we do care and want to be there for you. We are not giving up, we are refocusing our energy on the things and people that want us to be the caring, compassionate, warriors we are.

We encourage those who have been afraid to speak up to do so now. If you do not speak up, you will never be heard.

The things that made us proud to be from the community have dwindled into a barely recognizable Village. It’s time to take the power back, take our village back, and remember who we are.

We thank all those who supported us!

Jami R. Wallace,

JD, MPA. SHRM-SCP

President, Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment