We, the undersigned, call on Gov. Holcomb and Mayor Hogsett to immediately and comprehensively respond to the below demands in order to protect people during the COVID-19 crisis. The demands were created on March 17 by grassroots organizations in Indianapolis and across Indiana, including Indy10 Black Lives Matter, IMPD Transparency, IDOC Watch, Queering Indy, ANSWER Indiana, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Indy SURJ.
- Enact a total waiver on rent, mortgage, utility, debt, and loan payments (such as car notes, credit cards, etc.) for the duration of the crisis
- Issue Free Food vouchers to residents of Indiana and end work requirements for SNAP benefits
- Use eminent domain to house people experiencing homelessness and people in overcrowded households in existing vacant housing units in good condition
- Petition the federal government to expand unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks for those who need additional support
- Continue to provide meals to public school students, expand meal programs to include families of public school students, and call upon universities or schools that close residence halls to provide alternative housing, food, and healthcare
- Release medically fragile and older adults from jail and prison, release people with short sentences and those whose sentences are nearly complete, release those who are held pre-trial for low level offenses, stop charging medical co-pays to those who are incarcerated, increase availability of testing to prisons and jails, provide immediate healthcare for anyone showing flu-like symptoms and create social distancing strategies for those living in close quarters
- Immediately prohibit any cooperation between Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Indiana Department of Corrections, and ICE — including honoring ICE detainers, providing names and release dates to ICE, and using state or local facilities as ICE detention centers
- Expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment in full for all affected residents through the use of Section 1115 waivers obtained from HHS, and guarantee multilingual staff to serve people in health and social services
- Provide state subsidized child care for all healthcare providers and essential health system staff impacted by the crisis
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