John,

A few weeks ago, Congress worked lightning-fast to produce The CARES Act, a $2 trillion package of legislation to expand unemployment, provide stimulus checks, bail out corporations and more. But the young people we work with have been kicked out of their housing, still need to pay school fees or student loans, worry about incarcerated family members, owe rent but have lost their jobs, and many of them don’t even qualify for stimulus checks or unemployment!

In short, our representatives left young people out of their coronavirus relief bill, and we must stop Congress from making the same mistake again.

Can you send a letter to Congress today using this simple form? It’ll only take a minute, and the more letters members of congress receive, the more likely they are to fix the gaps in their next relief bill, which is being negotiated as you read this.

Young people are falling through the cracks, especially if they’re LGBTQ, undocumented, living with HIV, are people of color, don’t have health insurance, are pregnant or parenting, or were declared “dependents” on their parents’ most recent taxes.

We can protect young folks by demanding changes such as:

1. Ensure stimulus checks go to EVERYONE who needs it, including the many young people aged 17-23 who were disqualified from receiving the checks, and those living with mixed status families, including DACA recipients, temporary visa holders, and beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status.
2. Ensure young people ages 17-23 qualify for the same expanded unemployment and paid leave given to workers who are older than 24.
3. In a time of massive unemployment, Congress must eliminate ALL work requirements to receive public assistance, such as food stamps and Medicaid.
4. Expand healthcare access by ending federal bans on abortion funding, investing in telemedicine and telehealth in underserved communities, and passing the Affordability is Access Act, which would expand insurance coverage to oral contraceptives over-the-counter, if they become available during this critical time.
5. Cancel ALL student loan debt. Broad cancellation of student debt will provide direct relief to millions of borrowers, bring peace of mind to struggling families, and will actually help stimulate the economy by creating long-term resources for young people to invest in their future.
6. Institute a guaranteed nationwide cancellation of rents and home mortgage payments through the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is just some of what young people need to survive right now. Go to our action page here to read all of our demands and send a letter today.

With the United States now the epicenter of the global pandemic, it is crucial that Congress act to slow the epidemic, save lives, and prevent devastating harm to young people. The only way to do that is to explicitly include us in legislation.

In solidarity,

Geoff Corey,
Senior Manager of Digital Campaign Strategy
Advocates for Youth