Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown Proposes Right to Recover Program
Columbus
Urban League and CSS Our Lady of Guadalupe Center to ensure that those hardest
hit by COVID-19 get financial help when missing work
[COLUMBUS, OH] Columbus City Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown is
leading legislation to ensure Columbus workers can count on some income even
when forced to take time off of work to isolate, recover from and mitigate the
risk of spreading COVID-19. The new Right to Recover program will provide
income replacement for up 40 hours per week for two weeks at a maximum of
$15/hr for those who qualify before December 31, 2020. The new initiative will
be implemented by the Columbus Urban League and Catholic Social Services’ Our
Lady of Guadalupe Center.
The program taps into $1.21 million of the City’s share of
federal CARES Act funding. Eligible residents must either personally have
tested positive for COVID-19 and earn at or below 150 percent of the federal
poverty line ($39,300 annually for a household of four).
The agencies administering the funding are experts at reaching
the communities most hurt by the pandemic. The Columbus Department of Health
reports that among populations, Hispanic residents are four times more likely
and Black residents twice as likely to contract COVID-19 compared to white
populations. Experts attribute these disparities to a number of issues,
including systemic racism, and that the industries that disproportionately
employ workers of color are also the most likely to require in-person work and
are least likely to offer paid time off or to pay wages that enable their
employees to sustain a period of unpaid leave. This creates an impossible
situation for these workers should they contract COVID-19.
“’Right to Recover’ is for workers faced with an impossible
decision between protecting their health and receiving their next paycheck,”
said Council President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown. “Giving
workers the financial assistance they need to follow safety guidelines
following a positive COVID-19 test protects their health, the health of their
families, and the health of our entire community during this pandemic.”
“You shouldn’t go broke because you got sick,” said Columbus
Urban League President and CEO Stephanie Hightower. “Everything about COVID-19
has exacerbated long-standing deep inequities in our health care and economic
systems. I applaud Council Member Brown for her leadership and I want the
community to know we’re rolling up our sleeves to get to work so you can take
care of yourself and your family.”
“Many of our clients were already living paycheck to paycheck,”
said Alma Santos, Our Lady of Guadalupe Center, Pantry Coordinator, “and if one
paycheck stops, everything else crumbles.” Santos added that the Hispanic
population is afraid of getting tested for COVID-19 for fear of testing
positive. “They can’t afford hospital bills or to stay home from work. If they
are forced to stay home, they risk losing their job, their home, and possibly
their children.”
Rachel Lustig, President and CEO of Catholic Social Services
stated, “our Hispanic community in Columbus is resilient. Many have overcome
tremendous hardships and continue to bring to our community a spirit of
hopefulness, gratitude and a tremendous work ethic. But, there are limits to
how resilient a person and a family can be. At Catholic Social Services’ Our
Lady of Guadalupe Center, we are starting to see the limits of that resiliency
as an increasing number of people deal directly with the health and economic
impact of this virus. We are grateful to the Columbus City Council for stepping
up to provide this support to help people prioritize their health, without
putting their livelihood, home, and children at risk.”
City Council will take up the emergency measure at their October
12 meeting.
“We will continue focusing on programs that help the people
impacted the most during the worst economic and health crisis in living
memory,” said Pro Tem Brown. “I am grateful to
our partners who help us to put people and families first as we continue to
weather this storm together.”
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