Thread by @LegalAidJustice

There is nothing like a crisis to expose the cavernous gaps in our systems of support. A few examples among many:

(thread from @angelaciolfi new op-ed in @MercuryVirginia - virginiamercury.com/2020/03/19/cov…) #coronavirus #advocacy #legalaid

A few examples among many:

Evicting people from public housing for unpaid rent when other affordable housing options are scarce has always increased homelessness and educational instability. COVID-19 just lays bare the naked cruelty of it.

Firing workers for being sick — or for taking care of sick children or parents — has always been heartless. Why is it any more unconscionable when the disease is coronavirus instead of flu or cancer?

Mass incarceration and immigrant detention were always deadly. Just ask the women at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women where 20 women died between 2/2016 and 2/2020. COVID-19 just magnifies the health and other risks of locking so many people up for so long for so little.

To put it bluntly: COVID-19 is not just a destructive act of nature. It is also a human-made crisis caused by our collective failure to address gaps in our economic system and social safety net.

These gaps leave millions of people stranded every day without health care, paid sick leave, affordable housing, reliable food sources, access to technology and broadband and other basic life necessities.

Read the full piece justice4all.org/covid19-advoca…

and then go to our page, see where you can take action, or have your organization sign on in support.

justice4all.org/covid19-advoca…