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Andrés Spokoiny’s Speech
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  1. This is a great speech for this time. I appreciated hearing it live over the internet and reading it again this AM. We are all going to have to step (or roll for wheelchair users) up to the tasks.

    As a funder I wrote to some of my grantees to give them ideas on how to save money, and spoke with them about not abandoning healthcare coverage if they have to do layoffs/furlows. I wrote checks to several groups already that I ordinarily would not send money to until December. We sent money to urgent direct support groups. But at the end of the day philanthropy dwarfs in comparison to the 1.5 TRILLION package that is being developed on Capitol Hill now. And sadly, in their rush to push out money, and their access to people who are marginalized so limited, the bill is currently catastrophic.

    Let me give you an example. A person with a disability who is poor and on government benefits is MEANS TESTED. Put simply, if that person has more than 2K to their name they get thrown off government benefits. So if they have $1001 to their name and the government, meaning well, gives them 1K, then they are a dollar over the max. So then they would lose their healthcare, medications, and ongoing support. Yes, they can re-apply. But that generally takes 6-18 months. So they literally could die because they took a 1K check from the government which caused them to lose access to life-saving healthcare. It’s a very easy fix in the law, but it hasn’t been fixed yet.

    Right now we as individuals should contact our elected officials and tell them — it’s ok to take an extra 24 or 48 hours to get a 1.5 TRILLION package right so people don’t die as a result of it!

    Here are other issues that are not yet fixed in the bill:

    https://www.respectability.org/2020/03/covid-stimulus-disability/

  2. Hi Andres,

    So well said and enjoyed many of your references! I would just like to add on to the list of those affected which are the Jewish Early Childhood programs across the country which are now struggling to pay their teachers. I hear some synagogues and other “host” institutions are rising to the occasion and working with Directors to deal with this crisis. Hoping families will continue to pay tuition as long as their stream of income remains the same and helping others who may have lost that stream. Some are writing letters to support families in many ways and contain them as they can. The masks will come down as you well said and we will see in the aftermath which institutions are worth “saving”.

  3. Thank you for your heartfelt speech and powerful words of encouragement to the philanthropic community. As Jennifer (above) points out, those with disabilities are in a category that loses double and triple fold in this crisis. As Diana (above) points out, those in education are struggling to continue the learning for their students even as parents struggle to continue paying tuition. As the Executive Director of a Jewish Special Education inclusion school I am double tested, but I stand firm in my belief that our service to our students, their families, and the community is essential.I stay confident that our donors will continue to value our work. When the mask comes down, I will see the good, the caring, the enduring values of Klal Yisrael.