Dear Congress: "The system is broken and it needs to be fixed." A Care Economy Storybook
Right now, moms and families in America face a wholly inadequate care infrastructure, a fact that the pandemic has laid bare. We've been left to shoulder the burden of caregiving and working without the common-sense protections that a care infrastructure provides. This hurts our businesses, families, and economy.
As one mom put it, "The system is broken and it needs to be fixed." (check out our Care Economy Storybook (pdf) for more stories.)
It's not enough to go back to where we were. We need to build back better.
In our Care Economy Storybook 2021, MomsRising has captured powerful and moving stories from families across the nation about how hard it is to give care, making the case that it doesn't have to be this way.
Download a copy of the Care Economy Storybook 2021 (pdf)
Building a care infrastructure isn't just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do: A recent study found that finally building a care infrastructure would lift our country's long-term real GDP growth by 10-15 basis points. It both creates good care jobs and enables parents to work in much-needed jobs.
Here are a few excerpts from the Storybook:
"Not having access to paid leave forced me to liquidate my retirement assets so I could care for my newborn." — Susan
"I am a home care worker. We work with fragile, vulnerable persons - without a single day's sick leave." — Lynn
"It was tough explaining being homeless to a four-year-old." — Latrish
"It is appalling to me that caring for children has been classified as a low-skill form of employment, and that day-care providers barely make enough to survive." — Rachel
"You never truly expect to feel like a terrible parent until your child asks for new pair of shoes because their old pair hurt her feet and have to tell her we don't have the money to get new ones." — Jennifer
"It was excruciating pain...I could not believe how the treated my body without gentle care. They didn't care." — Adriana
"My son, who is multi-handicapped, waited 11 years for Maine state funding to reside in a group home...Parents should not have to go through this!" — Jo
"I have been working for 14 years as a farmworker. I am a mother of five and feel like I'm continuously living in the shadows. For me it would be very important for an immigration form so that I can go visit my parents and be able to work here legally and not be in the shadows." — Rafaela
Read these full stories and more...download the Care Economy Storybook (pdf) today.
We need your help to drive these messages home by personally dropping off the Care Economy Storybook to the local office of your U.S. House or Senate member before Labor Day. Want to participate? It's easy! We'll mail you everything you'll need, including a copy of the storybook and this button!
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