CHN supporter Dale Wisely of Birmingham, Alabama is worried that “the worst is yet to come” in terms of COVID-19 infections. He worries that his own state — and others — are opening up too quickly for normal activities. “Our polarization is at work,” Dale posted on Facebook. “We’re to believe we either are in the stay-closed-and-destroy-the-economy group or the open-up-and-party group. We could have opened up cautiously and effectively if more would be willing to wear masks and practice social distancing. Instead, some decided to go with conspiracy theories, to scoff at science, to whine about their individual rights, and to politicize what should have been seen as common sense,”
Archives: Voices
Under cover of COVID-19, Trump Administration accelerates deportation of immigrant children
Under the cover of COVID-19, the Trump Administration has accelerated its practice of separating immigrant families and deporting even young children, even in the middle of the night and without their parents’ knowledge. In March and April, the latest months for which figures are available, nearly 1,000 children have been deported. The Trump Administration is callously taking advantage of a 1944 law that grants the president broad power to block foreigners from entering the country in order to prevent the “serious threat” of a dangerous disease.
CHN’S COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship
Joblessness is skyrocketing; families are running out of food, losing health insurance, and failing to pay rent. Congress must respond NOW! Check out CHN’s latest COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship.
COVID-19 and the safety net: Is it safe enough?
Luis of Clearwater, Florida, was furloughed from his job on March 18. He applied for unemployment, but after two months, still had not heard back from the state and had not received a cent in compensation. He is not alone. Nationwide, millions of Americans have been unsuccessful in their efforts to access unemployment; some have not even managed to apply due to factors including crashed web sites, busy signals, and lack of adequate staffing in unemployment offices.
Working moms deserve a new New Deal
The United States currently faces an economic crisis of climactic proportions. Working families who were already teetering on the brink of financial insolvency now face mass unemployment and a deeply uncertain future. In an economy in which women make up nearly two in three workers in low paid jobs — nearly half of whom are women of color — the burden of this economic collapse will fall disproportionately along gendered and racial lines. We need a new New Deal that does not leave out domestic workers and farmworkers like the first one did, but rather sets workers up for stability both during this crisis and in the recovery to follow.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship
Week after week, the toll of the pandemic grows, damaging the health and economic security of millions. Joblessness is skyrocketing; shocking numbers are running out of food, losing health insurance, and failing to pay rent. Congress’ response must match the severity of the downturn to prevent another Great Depression.
A New COVID-19 Crisis: Lockdown and Intimate Terrorism
“Violence is not confined to the battlefield. For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest – in their own homes.” These words, spoken by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, shine light on another devastating condition that has been flourishing under the reign of COVID-19, domestic abuse. The fact is that lockdowns and quarantines, while effective in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, have the potential to trap those with abusive partners.
Coalition on Human Needs: Speaker Pelosi’s HEROES Act Responds to Our National Emergency
When four in ten families with children do not have enough money to buy a month of food, that is an emergency. When 33 million workers have filed unemployment claims, and many more have not even been able to get through to states’ overwhelmed systems, the need for action is urgent. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has worked with House members to introduce legislation aimed at preventing the pandemic from triggering a full-blown Depression. The scope of their response is needed. Congress must act.
Coronavirus and gig workers: When the band stops playing
Kathryn of Santa Rosa, California and her husband are both musicians, working gigs in California’s tourism-rich wine country — until the pandemic happened, drying up their work. “We were having a great start to our bookings for the year when news of the coronavirus started coming in,” she says. “We performed our last job on March 6. All jobs were cancelled and all inquiries for future work stopped coming in. Our business relies heavily on corporate travel in the fall. With a probable return of COVID-19 in the fall, we anticipate little to no work for the rest of the year.”
New Unemployment Report Shows Record-Breaking Hardship – Congress Must Respond
The gravity of our national situation cannot be denied. With 20,000 – 30,000 new COVID-19 cases every day in the U.S., we will not be able to fully open our economy for some time. We are experiencing a pandemic-induced economic depression. April’s stunning unemployment report showed a total of nearly 44 million either out of work or involuntarily part-time. For Latinx, nearly one in five were unemployed (18.9 percent); for African Americans, 16.7 percent; for whites, 14.2 percent; for Asians, 14.5 percent, using the narrowest official definition of unemployment.
One day before planning to strike, nursing home workers in Illinois win key concessions
Thousands of frontline nursing home workers in Illinois have won a tentative yet significant victory after workers reached an agreement with the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities. The agreement, which still must be approved by rank-and-file workers, was reached on Thursday, May 7. On Friday, 6,000 caregivers at 64 nursing home facilities in Illinois had been prepared to strike. The agreement is good news for both SEIU Healthcare members as well as residents at more than 100 nursing homes – both nursing home residents and employees have been disproportionately harmed by COVID-19.
Housing and Health Care: Working Together to Address COVID-19
We are in the midst of a health crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic – where we know people experiencing homelessness are at a greater risk of infection due to a variety of factors like the inability to socially isolate, being unsheltered, and having increased underlying health conditions. To address the pandemic, the homelessness system must work across silos, particularly health – a sector that has the ability to test and care for our vulnerable populations during these trying times.