classmates — things are nowhere close to normal. Savings are gone. Jobs have been lost. And even if an employer is holding a position (restaurants, construction), many businesses are barely staying afloat. They can’t offer the hours needed to support a family. Parents are stressed about rent even though they desperately want to work.
These are people who survived war, famine and refugee camps.
Some spent months walking from Ecuador through the Darién Gap — a roadless stretch of rainforest known for poisonous snakes, disease, flash floods, sexual violence and gangs — with hopes of building a better life. I once thought I deserved a medal for road-tripping to Traverse City in a Chrysler Pacifica with two kids under five. These families have more grit in their pinkie nail than I have in my whole body.
Those of us with means, with privilege, must stay engaged. Before we pat ourselves on the back for showing up 50,000 strong on the coldest day of the year — which was incredible and perhaps the most Minnesotan thing ever — before we write our acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize we honestly deserve, let’s remember this is not over. The dramatic moments are gone. What remains is the basic, boring, unsexy work we cannot crowdfund our way out of. It’s time to ask our elected officials to match our effort.
Where to Start
If you’re wondering how to help, start by advocating for an eviction moratorium (do that here: http://bit.ly/OMSrecovery). This is not rent forgiveness. It would simply protect tenants from eviction if they cannot pay rent. Yes, we all experienced this trauma, but the only sliver of safety many families have is their home. How about we wait before taking that away from people who couldn’t work because of a paramilitary operation?
Please ask our elected officials to invest in ongoing recovery, especially in our underfunded public schools.
And in the meantime, even though we’re burned out and tired, please donate to the rent relief fund for our school’s Wolfpack Community Fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-support-for-wolfpack-families) or Venmo me @molly-mogren. Our people need help. We are not giving up.
"Those of us with means, with privilege, must stay engaged."
Eviction moratorium
Add your name to the list of supporters for this moratorium here –
http://bit.ly/OMSrecovery
Donate to rent relief
Donate here –
http://www.gofundme.com/f/community-support-for-wolfpack-families
Or by Venmo here –
@molly-mogren
