It is day 3 of 2022… and kind of feeling like nothing is shiny and new.  COVID numbers are raging and today we collectively hold our breath as many of us send our kids to school. Our hearts go out to all the teachers and other school-based staff, and yes we all are searching for available KN95 masks to replace our homemade ones. 

Now, take pause… how are we being supported through this? Imagine if we had a social safety net already in place — COVID or not? Here is what (the other) Stephanie talked about in a recent interview in The Washington Post:

“I describe it (living in poverty) as walking on a tightrope over a floor that is constantly dropping out from underneath. It’s really traumatic. I used to not sleep because I was budgeting in my head. I mean, I woke up knowing exactly what bills were coming out, what still needed to be paid, how many hours I was going to work that day, how much I was going to bring home. It’s just such extreme insecurity in the most vital ways. People deserve shelter and food — those are basic needs — and when those are denied, it really affects you.”

For so many the mental exhaustion of living in trauma is not new. But, right now we are all having a shared experience of mental fatigue, anxiety, and uncertainty.  The monthly checks from the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) were giving families a solid floor they could count on. 

But, no check will arrive this January or any month after that. 

I have not lost hope that this could change. The Build Back Better Act is still a moving target — it is not dead yet, so the expanded CTC is not dead yet. 

We're still waiting on more details about what the next few weeks and months will look like in terms of votes and process. So, in the meantime, share this petition with parents, grandparents, teachers, anyone in your life that knows the power of an ongoing monthly check — the power that can change a family for the better.

Thank you,

Stephanie