Arise update: April 6, 2020

Like all of you, we’re doing what we can to weather this crisis, and we have many concerns about the health and well-being of our families and communities. Arise’s Robyn Hyden highlights some resources on our website that can help you navigate new SNAP and unemployment insurance benefits available for people who need immediate assistance.

Federal law strengthened SNAP amid COVID-19 pandemic, but benefit increase still needed

Unlike earlier recessions, the COVID-19 downturn happened virtually overnight. That has left state agencies scrambling to keep up with the demands for help. The federal Families First Act helped SNAP participants across Alabama by breaking down enrollment barriers and expanding food assistance for many participants. But as Arise’s Carol Gundlach writes on our blog, struggling families still need a further SNAP boost to keep food on the table as unemployment soars.

Unemployment insurance improvements, recovery rebates will help Alabamians hurt by COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, highlighting the need for Alabama to lift harmful UI cuts and barriers that lawmakers erected last year. On our blog, Arise’s Dev Wakeley explains how traditional UI, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and recovery rebates will help workers endure this economic downturn.

The Anniston Star: Stimulus checks may help, but not cure lasting ailments from pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak is a harsh reminder that the health of any of us is tied inextricably to the health of all of us. That’s why the federal government should fully fund Medicaid expansion in Alabama and other states during this pandemic. As Arise’s Chris Sanders tells The Anniston Star: “No one should be afraid to get life-saving medical care because they’re afraid of going bankrupt.”

The New Yorker: A preventable cancer is on the rise in Alabama

The humanitarian toll of Alabama’s failure to expand Medicaid reaches far beyond the ongoing pandemic. Increasing rates of cervical cancer are another brutal example of the consequences that a lack of health coverage brings. “When you actually talk to people about the [Affordable Care Act], it’s very popular,” Arise’s Robyn Hyden tells The New Yorker. “But in general, people don’t come into the room knowing about it. They’ve heard a partisan message about it.”

AL.com: Alabama lawmakers delay session till April 28

Alabama legislators have pressed the pause button on the 2020 regular session. Lawmakers met briefly Tuesday and agreed to put the session on hold until April 28 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The House and Senate met under special guidelines intended to follow social distancing rules to reduce the chances of spreading COVID-19. By law, the regular session must end by May 18.

Alabama Arise

P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, Alabama 36101

(334) 832-9060 · [email protected]

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