Before our city was hit with the COVID-19 crisis, New Haven suffered from deep inequality and poverty. Many of the neighborhoods that were redlined in 1937 have been denied opportunities for the last eighty years. Currently, 40% of New Haven residents are unable to afford the basic needs of housing and food; 34% of young children live in poverty; and our public schools operate at a severe and recurring deficit. Years of austerity have undermined our ability to address inequality and poverty. This unsustainable path will continue until Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital contribute their fair share.