many Americans already knew to be true: there are gaping holes in our deliberately weakened and insufficient social safety net. We all likely know people who are now out of work, who are wondering how they will pay their bills, who are worried about their health and that of their loved ones, who don’t have paid sick days or paid leave they can take, who are homeless, who are incarcerated, who are elderly and live alone, who live with disabilities, who do not have safe homes to go to.
An adequate response would require massive government intervention—one that does not appear to be coming soon. Our country is being run by incompetent buffoons with a death drive, butother right now, even from afar. Let’s stay safe, be gentle with one another, and reserve our rage for the people who truly deserve it.Organizations and businesses that regularly donate to food banks are shutting down for the time being, just as need is going up.
if you want to plug into efforts. There are lots of Google Docs circulating, so keep in mind that this is by no means the only source of information out there.If you’re able, chip in a few bucks to help people who have lost work, who tend to be overwhelmingly service industry workers who are already living paycheck to paycheck. You’ve probably already seen individuals fundraise for themselves—donate to them if you can! Here are just a few other places to donate that I’ve seen floating around.