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Echoing the sentiments of the late civil rights heroine Fannie Lou Hamer, our health-care system has left us "sick and tired of being of sick and tired."

The 2009 People's Campaign for Prince Georges (PCPG) Healthcare Report suggests that while only 18 percent of the 289 residents sampled reported to be uninsured, the number jumps to 54 percent for those between the ages of 18 to 25. The data also suggests that uninsured residents are 27 percent less likely to get necessary medical treatment than their insured counterparts. And postponing treatment invariably increases the likelihood of contracting future ailments and increases the likelihood of developing pre-existing conditions.

As the Congress prepares to reconvene, the health-care debate will continue throughout the county. Fortunately President Obama's community organization, Organizing for America (OFA), has continued where Obama for America left off in Prince George's. OFA is raising awareness about health care, signing letters of support and responding to the opponents of health-care reform. A recent OFA Listening Tour event in Landover attracted 151 volunteers.

I grew up without health-care coverage or a pediatrician and used emergency rooms for primary care. I, like many of you, understand the need for urgent change.

While the need for comprehensive health-care reform benefits all of us, it benefits the uninsured the most. For that matter, PCPG's discovery that the wealthiest and the healthiest survey respondents are equally supportive of universal health care as their less wealthy or less healthy neighbors is most encouraging. The wealthy ($100K-plus per year salary) were the largest group (25 percent) of respondents in support of universal health care. Prince Georgians know how important health care is to those who don't have it and are willing to absorb the burden.

The debate over health-care reform must continue and will continue as groups like OFA and PCPG bring the debate to the people through grassroots surveys, house meetings and community mobilization. With house meetings scheduled at local churches and senior living facilities in the county, OFA is empowering residents at every age and income level. And like a year ago, we are armed with grassroots support for change and have the statistics and stories to prove it.

In the past, Prince Georgians have too often been divided by outsiders or perceived socioeconomic differences, but on the need for universal health care, we are united. The people of Prince George's defied past divisions and brought change to America last autumn, we will do it again. We will bring change to America again. We need to do it again because we are all sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Curtis Valentine of Oxon Hill is regional lead for Organizing for America in Prince George's and organizer of the People's Campaign for Prince George's.