Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every person in one way or another. Some of the groups that are most affected by this situation have been low-income students, people in areas lacking sufficient food and water resources, and those within the carceral system. 

One group that has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic is low-income students, especially those with disabilities, special needs, language barriers, or those in the BIPOC community. For instance, the number of failing grades in high school students in the LAUSD district increased by 8.7% in 2020 compared to the year before. Students need to recover lost learning time that occurs from obstacles in remote learning, such as lack of internet access, unstable family environments and financial insecurities.

In conjunction with this, there was a dramatic surge in food hardship with the pandemic for many individuals–particularly young people. According to the Census Bureau, 8.8 million children weren’t eating enough because their households couldn’t afford food in March of 2021, with children in Black and Latinx communities being three times as likely to experience food hardship. Furthermore, many families with young children lost access to food assistance during the height of the pandemic. This issue along with the high rates of job loss resulted in a spike in evictions and people facing homelessness throughout 2020.

Even prior to the pandemic, carceral facilities faced pressing issues such as overcrowding and being ill-equipped to serve its inmates, but COVID-19 has only exacerbated these issues. Incarcerated individuals were forced to reside in crammed cells during the pandemic, which made social distancing impossible and increased infection rates. In fact, incarcerated individuals are five times as likely to be infected with coronavirus compared to the national average. Moreover, lack of access to quality medical care resulted in more cases of chronic health conditions and of COVID-19. 

Therefore, we urge Representative Luis Correa to cosponsor the following pieces of legislature when it is voted on in the House so he may take the necessary steps to improve the quality of life for those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic:

• H.R. 676 - Learning Recovery Act of 2021
• H.R. 1139 - Feeding Homeless Youth During COVID-19 Act
• H.R. 2293 - Federal Correctional Facilities COVID-19 Response Act

As UCLA students and members of the California Health Professional Student Alliance, we strive for a healthcare system that is equitable and addresses the needs of all people. For this reason, we ask Representative Luis Correa to cosponsor these pieces of legislature.