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As the coronavirus spreads across the world, the heightened risks facing those most vulnerable—the elderly, the sick, the poor—are coming into sharp relief. Without adequate hospital facilities or public health policies in place, it’s crucial that we do everything we can to support each other in these difficult times.
Take Action Now gives you three meaningful actions you can take each week whatever your schedule. You can sign up here to get these actions and more in your inbox every Tuesday.
NO TIME TO SPARE?
Workers in the service, hospitality, and tourism industries are preparing to take a serious financial hit. The House last week passed a second emergency bill to respond to the outbreak that aims to minimize the disease’s spread and provide financial and job security to people affected by COVID-19. The bill excludes millions of workers, but is a necessary starting point for addressing the crisis. Tell your senators to pass the House bill immediately, without watering it down. Then, donate to service workers and domestic workers who are bearing the economic brunt of this crisis, or to your local food bank to help meet increased demand.
GOT SOME TIME?
According to health experts, it is not a matter of if but when the coronavirus will enter prisons and jails, and the effects could be devastating. Check out and share the Justice Collaborative’s Explainer to learn more about the risks the virus poses to incarcerated people. Sign onto criminal justice organizations’ list of demands to public officials, corrections facilities, and prison industry corporations. Next, donate what you’re able to a community bail fund in your area to help get vulnerable people out of these dangerous facilities.
READY TO DIG IN?
Even as the coronavirus outbreak reaches crisis levels, ICE and border control continue to target undocumented people in our communities. Join immigrants rights groups in demanding that President Trump suspend all immigration enforcement activities and provide free COVID-19 testing and treatment regardless of immigration status. Then, call your representatives to demand that they protect homeless populations and low-income people struggling to pay rent during the crisis. Check out the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s list of local housing actions; if you don’t see your city/state on the list, call your local representatives to demand a moratorium on evictions. Reach out to your at-risk neighbors and see how you can support them. Call a local community group in your area to learn what mutual aid networks you can plug into, or help organize one yourself.
