• At least 1 in 5 workers in NC have lost their jobs and don't know where to turn
• At least 1 in 3 people in the US couldn’t pay rent last month and are afraid of losing their homes
• Front line workers are being forced to go to work without protective equipment, hazard pay, or paid sick leave
• Forsyth County was already ranked the third hardest place in the country to escape poverty; those who faced financial challenges prior the pandemic will only experience greater disparities in the aftermath of COVID19

To meet this crisis and the disparities it highlights, we need our elected officials to be more accessible, accountable, and active than ever. We need them to listen to the needs of our communities -- especially communities of color and working people. We need them to answer questions about what’s being done. And we need them to take clear, public stands for massive rent, mortgage, utility, and other relief programs.

That’s why the Forsyth Freedom Federation is organizing monthly town hall meetings where impacted people can ask our public officials for clear answers, real accountability, and bold action on the issues that matter.

As plans take shape to bail out the local economy we must not return to the status quo of neglecting our most vulnerable communities to only deepened the disparities and expand the gaps in education and wealth. We need an aggressive plan that will bail out our marginalized communities. Plans that go beyond charitable giving. Plans that will produce sustainable transformation while dismantling structures, such as the benefits cliff, that have historically trapped and oppressed Black and Brown families in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County for far too long.

We are calling on city, county, and state representatives to be leaders we can count on by committing to our monthly town hall meetings. If politicians want our votes this fall they need to listen to us now and act to make sure everyone in our community is taken care of -- no exceptions, no excuses.

Join us in demanding answers, accountability, and action from our elected officials.