Help is on the way. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, enacted today by Congress, will offer badly needed help to protect our people from the pandemic’s threats. It is of the scope needed to speed vaccines across the nation and to help families withstand the economic blows that still afflict us.
Archives: Voices
WV groups: Passage of American Rescue Plan critical for recovery
With the U.S. Senate on the verge of voting on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID rescue plan, advocates for West Virginia families are saying federal relief is critical. Even before the pandemic, many in West Virginia faced food insecurity and a lack of childcare and broadband access – according to Amy Jo Hutchinson, an organizer with Our Future West Virginia. “Food insecurity is always a problem,” said Hutchinson. “A lot of that has to do with food access, because we’re so rural in so many areas. And I know that when COVID hit, the food pantries around here, they saw an increase of three times the regular need.”
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship March 5, 2021
The Hurry Up Senate edition. The Senate is poised to vote on the American Rescue Plan this weekend, and not a minute too soon. Unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire on March 14 if Congress does not get a bill to President Biden’s desk before then. Even if the bill gets final enactment early next week, some states may face an interruption in benefits because of the short lead time. Despite this, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) demanded a reading of the entire 628-page bill, which took hours.
Arizona families counting on passage of COVID relief plan
As Arizona families struggle to recover from the pandemic’s economic fallout, advocates for children and families say quick passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has become critical. Tomas Robles, co-chair of Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA, said families need help – before and after the pandemic is over. “There’s never going to be enough, in terms of total relief that our country has received,” said Robles. “But our families are going to take some of the assistance and really be able to continue pressing and persevering through this really difficult time in a lot of people’s lives.”
Colorado Children’s groups urge U.S. Senate to pass COVID relief
Colorado advocates for children, low-income workers and other vulnerable populations are urging Congress to pass President Joe Biden’s COVID relief package to address growing food and housing insecurity. Stephanie Perez-Carrillo, policy and partnerships manager for the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said families need help now. “All families, including immigrants, deserve a chance to be safe, healthy and to have the economic means to thrive,” Perez-Carrillo asserted. “We’re hoping that Congress acts now, and we call on lawmakers to pass this vital piece of legislation to support our nation’s families.”
NH children’s advocates urge swift passage of American Rescue Plan
As New Hampshire families struggle to recover from the pandemic’s economic fallout, advocates for children and families say quick passage of the American Rescue Plan is critical. Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, said the relief package will provide resources to speed vaccinations, increase health coverage and protect education and other services. “Above all, the rescue plan directs help where it is most needed: to jobless, to rural areas, to communities of color, to children and families and people with disabilities,” Weinstein outlined.
Advocates for children, families say Mainers need COVID relief
As Maine families struggle to recover from the pandemic’s economic fallout, advocates for children and families say quick passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is critical. According to a recent Census Household Pulse survey, nearly half of Maine adults were in households which lost earnings since the pandemic hit, and losses were higher in households with children. Stephanie Eglinton, executive director for the Maine Children’s Alliance, said Mainers need the stimulus package, passed by the House, and now being debated in the Senate.
Biden Administration to allow some immigrant families to reunite in the U.S.
Human-rights advocates are applauding a new Biden administration policy to allow children who remain in U.S. custody after being separated from their parents at the border to reunite with them in the U.S. or in their country of origin. Under President Donald Trump, parents were deported without their children, and hundreds of kids remain in U.S. care. Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, said the separations harmed children and amounted to a shocking moral failure.
Tax credits forever changed my family’s life
In 2009, I was enrolled in college, but my financial aid fell through. I suddenly owed the school just under $5,000. I was barely making it already and had to drop out. In the spring of 2012, my son was born. As a new parent I was full of joy and excitement. There was also the constant anxiety thinking about what I could do to provide a better life for my child. How was I supposed to tell him how important education is and that he can follow his dreams when I wasn’t able to do that for myself? Tax time the following year I received credits that would forever change my family’s life.
COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship February 26, 2021
The 500,000/50 million edition. This week, the U.S. eclipsed the 500,000 mark for COVID-19 deaths. More Americans have died from COVID-19 than in combat during all of America’s wars against foreign enemies. On a brighter note, we are about to surpass 50 million vaccinations administered. Shots don’t hurt, much, but the pain to our economy is acute. According to The Century Foundation, some 19 million Americans – nearly 1 in every 8 workers – are currently collecting unemployment benefits, and that doesn’t even include many more who are out of the labor force and/or not collecting benefits for a variety of reasons
Reflections on Black History Month: Jamaica Brickhouse
I am not a stranger to adversity. I grew up as the oldest of five children in a single-parent household. Through each phase of my life, I have experienced some type of homelessness and poverty knowingly or unknowingly. Like most people in my community, I have quietly dealt with the effects of systemic racism and oppression, whether I was seeking employment, housing, or in the criminal justice system. For a long time, I did not know how to help myself and others on a larger, more impactful scale.
COVID-19’s byproduct: A burgeoning increase in violent crime
During the first weeks of widespread lockdowns in March 2020, one of the most immediate effects of social distancing was a marked decrease in crime. But as the pandemic continues to restrict our ability to safely coordinate and gather in person, the picture of crime in America has grown more complicated. In recent months, an increase in violent crime has been noted by criminologists. Experts have pointed to disruptions in economic and social assistance as the underlying factor among these trends.