It is heartless and cruel to charge rent or mortgage during a pandemic when so many of us cannot work for the sake of public safety.

I wrote this with my own situation in mind, but please make changes to the following letter based on your personal circumstances, and get involved in your local tenant unions. We’re asking nicely first, but if we don’t get what we need, we will have to take it.

Dear [your senator, representative, mayor, governor, etc.]

I am now out of a job due to COVID-19, as are many servers, cooks, bartenders, hosts, runners, bussers, and many others who work in other service oriented jobs. Unemployment isn’t enough, especially for those of us who earn a large percentage of our income via tips. I’m asking for you to support a Universal Basic Income for all adults in this country.

Some small local measures have been taken to protect us from eviction right now, but we need more. Nobody should be evicted either during or immediately after this crisis, so I’m asking for a freeze on all rent and mortgage payments during the month of April, and for as long as this crisis is preventing so many of us from working.

Most of all, we need universal healthcare free at point of service. People have been doing the right and responsible thing and trying to get tested for this virus, then denied tests and billed thousands of dollars for their trouble. As long as a doctor’s office is synonymous with financial ruin for so many of us, this virus can and will run rampant.

I know there will be objections to these policies, but if we can afford to pump trillions into the stock market just for it to vanish in a puff of smoke, can’t we afford to take care of our people? I care about my community. I hope that you do too, because if not why did we vote for you?

Please help.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]