I read the other day that 19,000 West Virginian children are living with their grandparents. Add to that the reports of nearly 7,000 kids in our foster care system, and that’s over 25,000 kiddos who are not living with their parents.
One quarter of a million kids. Twenty-five thousand kids. Most of us know without doing research that the most likely reason for this is our drug epidemic, but what are the reasons for the drug epidemic?
We are fortunate that we have Congressional members representing us who prioritized infrastructure. Internet access, reliability, and performance were huge areas of concern last year when our students were forced to switch to remote learning. We read stories of families who were forced to spend their evenings in the parking lots of local businesses so their kids could get their work completed.
Working remotely also highlighted our internet problems. I consistently struggle with the internet where I live, and I’m not in a rural area. My local area has been advertised as a great place for families who work remotely to relocate, but we don’t tell those families that their kids will more than likely have to sit on a wait list because there is a serious lack of childcare. And if you don’t know, sometimes it’s not all that easy to work at home with kids there, too.
One of our Congress members has eluded to good roads being needed to get people to work. I’m sure most of us know the shape of some of our roads leave a lot to be desired, and I’m not going to argue about good roads getting people where they need to be. But what about the other pieces of our infrastructure, like a care infrastructure? We need good roads for travel, but we also need a care infrastructure that creates good roads to our families’ well-being.
Yesterday, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy released an article that talked about how federal relief programs during COVID-19 have cut poverty in West Virginia by … wait for it … 71 percent. Seventy-one percent! What? According to their article, that means 301,000 fewer West Virginians are living in poverty. Shut the front door!
We heard a lot about the stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment during the height of the pandemic. Add SNAP benefits to that list and you are looking at a recipe for anti-poverty. Say what you will, but a 71% cut is HUGE – and it’s more than I ever expected. Isn’t it ironic, then, that we’re fighting harder than I’ve ever known us to fight to protect some of these programs and enhancements? Although the data shows people are winning, we still have to prove people’s lives are worthy of being improved.
We’re pushing for as much attention and backing for the reconciliation package with a catchy slogan, “Build Back Better.” The sad part is that we have to push so hard. Our elected talk about a strong infrastructure that will support us, create jobs, etc., but they seem to be missing the point that we need a strong care infrastructure that supports families inside their homes. What about the infrastructure for families? Is it impossible to believe that, of course, a state with one of the nation’s poverty rates is the epicenter for a drug epidemic?
No one saw this coming?
We live in a state where women are going back to workdays after giving birth because they don’t have paid time off and/or can’t afford, because of low wages, to miss work. Most childcares won’t accept a baby until it’s two weeks old. Most women after having a c-section can’t drive for six weeks, nor can they lift anything heavier than their newborn. Now, imagine going back to work under those conditions to stand on your feet or wait tables, or to act as a caregiver for someone else. This happens all the time! So, where’s our road to paid leave?
You can’t work if there’s no one to care for your children. Before COVID-19, 7 of our 55 counties didn’t have a childcare center. How are people supposed to go to work without childcare? And what about the ones who can’t work because they can’t afford childcare?
Where’s the road to childcare?
We need to invest in our children and families. We need good roads to a better and more equitable quality of life. So many of the underlying conditions that make drug use prevalent can be alleviated if our government invests in us, the people. Reach out so we can talk 1:1 about how we can demand good roads to our well-being.
Let’s rattle some windows.
Onward,
Amy Jo
