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.
Archives: Voices
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.
Biden stimulus bill called key to preventing Virginia eviction crisis
With the economy stalling and millions of Americans still out of work because of the pandemic, Virginia housing advocates are urging Congress to quickly pass President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package to bring relief to families being pushed into poverty. Brian Koziol, executive director for the Virginia Housing Alliance, said even before the pandemic, Richmond had the second highest eviction rate in the country, with four other Virginia cities in the top ten.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship February 19, 2021
The economy won’t fix itself edition. At first glance, reasons for optimism abound. New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths all are down sharply. This week’s wintry weather caused a hiccup in vaccine distribution, but 12.7 percent of all Americans – 42.3 million and counting – have now received at least the first vaccine. After January, the pandemic’s deadliest month, It is now possible to believe the worst is behind us. But several new studies out this week show how much we have suffered and how far we have yet to go in order to restore our economy and address racial inequity.
Why – more than ever – we need a ‘Marshall Plan for Moms’
Here is a labor statistic that might strike you as rather odd if not incredible: 45 million women in the U.S. report to work every day and night and receive no pay. That’s the number of moms raising kids in the U.S. Although many of course work outside the home (and yes, get paid for it!) a growing number have been grounded by the pandemic as the ranks of women in the U.S. labor force increasingly face evisceration.
How can we make COVID-19 vaccine distribution more equitable?
Since last summer, the hope of a vaccine has been a key factor in the fight against COVID-19. Now that multiple companies’ versions have been approved as safe and effective, the next fight is the question of how to get the vaccine out and available to everyone. The equitable distribution of vaccines is a top political and health priority, but even with widespread support this goal is easier said than done.
CHN’s latest Human Needs Report: Progress on COVID-19 relief, executive actions, and more
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on Congress’s work on a COVID-19 relief package, President Biden’s executive actions, and more.
CHN Webinar: Register now. The next COVID relief bill: Top Biden official explains why it’s important and what you can do
At 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 18, CHN will host a webinar, “The next COVID relief bill: Top Biden official explains why it’s important and what you can do.” Register for this Zoom webinar here.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship February 12, 2021
The Saving Children from Poverty edition. This week’s COVID-19 Watch is all about children. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, now being turned into legislation in the House, includes provisions that taken together, would cut child poverty in half, according to the Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy. And just one of those proposals, the increase in the Child Tax Credit, would have the biggest impact, lifting 40 percent of children out of poverty. That means Congress is now working on a plan that will do immense good.
We must address the issue of student debt. How?
The cost of college in the U.S. has increased by more than 25 percent in the past ten years. This astonishing figure has left a mounting $1.6 trillion of student debt that affects more than 45 million Americans. This number is expected to surpass $2 trillion during the next four years if tuition increases.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship February 5, 2021
The vaccinations and racial inequality edition. This week, the U.S. crossed an important hurdle in the fight against COVID-19. For the first time, the number of Americans receiving a COVID-19 vaccine exceeds the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. throughout the entire pandemic. But a trove of data released this week shows extreme racial disparities in who is getting the vaccine. White Americans are being vaccinated at rates close to four times as high as Black Americans in Pennsylvania and Florida, even though Black residents in these states are more than twice as likely to die from COVID as white residents. There is no reliable national data.
COVID-19 and xenophobia: ‘What faith and morality call us to do’
Some of the latest actions from the Biden administration tackle one of the starkest departures between the current and the previous President — racial equality and xenophobia. Biden issued a series of executive orders addressing long-standing systemic racism, including in areas such as education, housing, and criminal justice. One of these executive orders addresses an unnerving statistic; hate crimes in America rose to the highest level in more than a decade in the past year and the target is overwhelmingly Asian Americans.