BY ALEJANDRA Y. CASTILLO, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
It’s no secret: the majority of Americans are hurting right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has sounded one alarm after another, demanding that we finally acknowledge inequities in healthcare, education, housing, childcare, and employment, to name a few. While we’ve made great efforts to combat the effects of the pandemic, there are too many people in this country being left behind.
Young adults make up 40 percent of the current labor force, yet over 7 million people under 30 are unemployed as a result of the pandemic. Fifteen percent of those between 18 and 24 were already living in poverty as of 2019 — and that rate is higher for people of color.