The American economy has been in freefall since the outbreak of the current novel coronavirus — and Latinos face the most widespread unemployment. Job loss is impacting Latinos and immigrant communities at higher rates than their peers during the pandemic, according to recently published data from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The pandemic is not only forcing more Latinos out of work, but it will have long-lasting ripple effects across the nation, according to Dr. Rogelio Sáenz, a professor in the Department of Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. "Over the last several decades, Latinos have represented the engine propelling the U.S. economy," Sáenz writes in a National Association for Community Asset Builders blog post. "While people ...
Systemic racism makes it harder for Latinos and other people of color to get healthcare, housing, transportation, education, employment, healthy food, safe treatment by police, and more. How can cities and states take a meaningful step to address racism? Declare racism a public health crisis. That’s what cities and counties in Ohio are doing, with a commitment to: Incorporate educational efforts to dismantle racism.
Review all portions of codified ordinances with a racial/ethnic equity lens.
Prioritize policies that will have the most beneficial health impact on people of color.
Train elected officials, staff, funders and grantees on workplace biases and how to mitigate them. “Through race-conscious policy-making, we’ve got to unwind the generations of ...
Cities are increasingly recognizing the value of streets as car-less public space. For example, due to a spike in demand for outdoor space early in the coronavirus pandemic, cities around the world began closing streets to vehicles to give people walking and biking more space. More recently, cities are closing streets to vehicles to give restaurants and shops space to serve customers outdoors—in parking spaces, on sidewalks, and on streets. However, street vendors, many of whom are Latinos and immigrants with no paid sick leave and a history of fighting to serve these very spaces, are being left out of reopening plans. “They’ve been so exposed through the nature of their work and the cruelty of our society that has forced them out of the formal economy,” Megan Macareg ...
Without childcare, going back to work after the coronavirus lockdown is not an option for many families. But many city and state leaders are overlooking this childcare dilemma as they push to reopen businesses, even while schools remain closed amid the pandemic. That’s why Melinda Lopez is speaking up. Rhode Island, where Lopez lives, began reopening businesses on May 9. But childcare sites have to remain closed through May 30. Beyond this three-week-lag, when childcare centers do reopen, they will take fewer kids. Many moms will still be left without a spot for their child. “I’m concerned about what our women in our communities are going to do,” said Lopez, an Education Strategies Specialist with Highlander Institute, Early Childhood Adjunct Instructor at Rhode ...
Without paid sick leave, too many Latinos are forced to choose between financial security and health. After all, just a few days of lost pay due to illness is the same as losing an entire month’s worth of groceries for some families, which fare worse during a pandemic like COVID-19. “For a typical Latino family without paid sick days, losing an average of 3.3 days due to sickness is equivalent to a family’s entire monthly health care budget or its monthly grocery budget,” according to a joint fact sheet from UnidosUS and National Partnership for Women & Families. This situation won’t just fix itself after the pandemic, either. “Lives are at stake when policies are not put in place from the top down to prevent the spread of disease or create healthy living ...
Half of workers with the lowest wages and more than half of Latinos are unable to earn a single paid sick day through their jobs. Without paid sick leave, these workers are forced to choose between the financial consequences of staying home without pay and the health risks of both ignoring health problems and exposing others to contagious disease. Afterall, just a few days of lost pay due to illness is the same as losing an entire month’s grocery budget for some families. Workers everywhere should be able to earn paid sick leave, particularly as our country focuses on economic recovery after COVID-19. Join #SaludTues on May 19, 2020, at 1:00 PM EST to tweet about why it is so important to for all workers to be able to earn paid sick leave. WHAT: #SaludTuesTweetchat: ...
How is your neighbor doing during the coronavirus pandemic? In the Boston area, Anna Kaplan, Jessie Norriss, Sophia Grogan, Miriam Priven, Hannah Freedman, and other neighbors saw their neighbors lose jobs, with no money for bills or groceries. They saw college students and non-English speakers get no support. They each wanted to help their neighbors. So, together, they helped create Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville (MAMAS), an on-the-fly mix of multilingual online documents, Google maps, social media, and text-message threads where neighbors can offer to help, and/or ask for help with grocery deliveries, filing for unemployment, emotional support, and more. Since March 12, 2020, MAMAS has connected over 1,000 neighbors to each other and raised over $90,000 to meet ...
As the U.S. Government continues to push back against the economic downturn and the spread of COVID-19, disadvantaged groups—such as Latinos—aren't receiving an equitable share. The recently passed $484 billion stimulus package will give millions of Americans and U.S. businesses with economic relief, in combination with past relief legislation. However, the money isn't reaching workers who need it the most, like Latino immigrants. "The survey only confirms what we already know, that the Paycheck Protection Program money went to Wall Street billionaires and very little of it trickled to the mom-and-pop shops and small businesses of America," LULAC National President Domingo García told NBC. "Lupita's taqueria or Juana's quinceañera shop didn't get money while Ruth's Chris ...
Health equity is where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible. But health inequity remains. Now the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening historical inequities, and disproportionately affecting and killing Latinos and other people of color. So what can we do? We need both immediate focus to ease the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on Latinos and people of color, as well as long-term strides to address underlying inequities that are aggravated during this time. It won't be easy, or fast. But here's few ways to push for health equity.
1. Understand the Need for Heath Equity During COVID-19 and After
Where you live matters for your health. Even before COVID-19, inequitable city planning, historic discriminatory practices like ...
