Survivors Call on Congress to Honor the Families Forever Changed by Covid by Passing the American Families Plan and Fully Funding Paid Leave for All
NEW YORK – As the nation nears the grim milestone of 600,000 Americans killed by Covid-19, the non-partisan grassroots survivor network, Covid Survivors for Change, released the following statements.
“As a police officer, my husband did everything he could to keep our community and family safe,” said Jerri Vance, a Covid Survivors for Change member in West Virginia and mom of three children whose husband died from Covid-19, as did her mother-in-law. “But the pandemic proved that while he was working to keep us safe, our lawmakers weren’t doing their part. Those of us whose lives have been upended by Covid-19 deserve more than sympathy from our elected leaders – we deserve a vote on the American Families Plan and all the support we need to keep our families afloat in a nightmare beyond our control.”
“There are no words to fully express the pain I feel for every family who, like mine, will never see their loved one again because of Covid-19,” said Veronica Ahumada, a Covid Survivors for Change member in North Carolina whose father was killed by Covid-19 and whose husband has been out of work since March 2020. “My family is devastated and I know there are far too many of us grappling with this crisis that reshaped our lives. It stole two people I love. It compromised my family’s financial security and our sense of safety. We were forced to mourn alone. We need our lawmakers to honor our loved ones by taking action to prevent something like this from ever happening again, by passing paid leave for all and funding long-term support for Covid survivors in need. My family will never be whole again, but I will do everything in my power to prevent others from knowing this kind of trauma.”
“Our hearts go out to the millions of Americans who now intimately know the trauma of Covid-19,” said Chris Kocher, executive director of Covid Survivors for Change. “Those who’ve been taken by the pandemic, as well as the millions of Americans now living with Long Covid, deserve our compassion and our action. Congress should honor what we’ve lost by passing the American Families Plan immediately as well as additional support for Covid survivors in need.”
About Covid Survivors for Change
Covid Survivors for Change is a national, non-partisan movement bringing together Americans who have experienced a loved one taken by Covid-19, as well as those who have survived the virus and those whose lives have been dramatically altered by the pandemic. As part of Covid Survivors for Change, Americans are mobilizing to make sure that communities have the funding, resources and leadership in place to address future public health emergencies. Survivors will also find community and healing in meeting other people whose lives have been forever changed by the pandemic. For more information, please visit: covidsurvivorsforchange.org.
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