As families continue to navigate the pandemic, Black and Latino students remain at risk academically. One critical reason involves virtual learning. Early on, virtual learning was viewed as an innovative and necessary response to school closings. Students couldn’t be in the classroom in the pandemic’s early days, but they could still learn, the thinking went. But it did not always work out that way.
Archives: Voices
Lessons about poverty in America’s heartland
I grew up poor. My single-dad grew up poor. And now, even as entrepreneurs — the embodiment of America’s “can-do” spirit and the engine of our economy — my partner and I are only just making ends meet. I’ve had to learn a lot about poverty over the years — the endless toil, the insufficient health care, the exposure to polluted environments. It grinds down the body and the spirit. But I’ve also learned that suffering can be transformed into powerful movements for change.
CHN’s latest Human Needs Report: A look at President Biden’s FY23 budget proposal
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for a comprehensive look at President Biden’s FY 2023 budget proposal.
CHN urges all members of U.S. Senate to support the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson
On Monday, April 4, the Coalition on Human Needs delivered a letter to all members of the U.S. Senate, urging a yes vote on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. The text of the letter, which was signed by CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein, is below.
CHN celebrates the “very good news” of Biden Administration’s ending inhumane rejection of asylum seekers
The Coalition on Human Needs applauds the announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it is terminating its Title 42 public health order that suspended the rights of people from even making a claim for refuge in the United States, effective May 23. This is very good news for thousands of desperate people. It also affirms the rule of law and the urgent need to carry out federal policy in accordance with human rights.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, April 1, 2022
The move aside, omicron AB.1 edition. New COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continue to decline, and deaths and hospitalizations are way down. But the decline in new cases is not nearly as sharp as it was two weeks ago – just 12 percent, compared with 43 percent in mid-March. And some states, including New York, are now reporting an increase in new cases. All of this comes as omicron AB.2, a subvariant of its predecessor and more infectious, has emerged as the dominant variant in the U.S.
Across the country, contract airport workers tell CEOs: Low pay and poor benefits won’t fly
Mohamed Osman, a wheelchair agent at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, works seven days a week, sometimes from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m. His job is demanding – occasionally he walks nearly 12 miles a day. But Mohamed, a Sudanese immigrant and father of four, is paid such low wages he is barely able to support his family. He depends on tips from generous passengers to help get by, but there is no guarantee how much – if any – he will receive in tips each shift.
The Biden Budget would protect us now and invest in our future
President Biden’s new budget makes vital investments in our future, while providing economic and public health protections needed now. His comprehensive plan recognizes that, despite unprecedented growth, the many dislocations beyond any family’s control are currently putting economic strain on our people. The Biden budget offers protection from those dislocations in the short term and builds lasting economic security and opportunity. Congress should follow its lead in enacting an economic package now and crafting funding plans consistent with the President’s vision soon.
New report: Half of women of color in the U.S. paid less than $15 an hour
Vikki Tully of Alkol, West Virginia has worked as a Head Start teacher for 26 years. She earns $12.70 an hour. Tully is one of nearly 52 million workers – or almost one-third of the work force – who earn less than $15 an hour, according to a new report released this week by the anti-poverty advocacy group Oxfam America.
Hungry families need our help. So do the food banks that feed them.
Among the most enduring images of pandemic year 2020 were mile-long car lines as families suddenly beset by unemployment inched their way toward relief in the form of food banks. Such disturbing imagery is unlikely to return soon – the economy is rebounding after a record-breaking 2021, and the number of families seeking assistance is down precipitously from March and April 2020. But more families are reporting a lack of food, and visits to food banks are once again on the increase, in large part due to the rising cost of groceries, gas, and rent – three spending areas that disproportionately hit families with low incomes in times of inflation.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, March 18, 2022
The two years in edition. Two years and one week ago, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. Today, in the U.S., there is cause for optimism. We see that daily infections, hospitalizations, and deaths all have fallen precipitously – to levels we have not seen since last summer. There are hints of a return to normalcy in our everyday lives. Still: three red flags appear on the horizon.
It’s not just inflation — it’s price gouging
If you’ve been slammed lately by higher prices on everything from groceries to rental cars and gas prices, you’re probably wondering what on earth is behind these skyrocketing costs. Corporations are quick to blame this new reality on the pandemic, but another major culprit is hiding in plain sight: their own profiteering.