Today leaders and experts from across Ohio came together to call on the state Senate to act immediately and fix problems with the state’s unemployment compensation (UC) system. See video of the call here. The Ohio House weeks ago approved House Bill 614, which among other things would create a
In testimony delivered before the Ohio Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee, Policy Matters Ohio called on lawmakers to declare racism a public health crisis and make sure Black Ohioans aren’t deterred from fully participating in democracy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, Sen. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland)
Good morning, Chairman Burke and members of the committee. My name is Jasmine Ayres and I am the Policy Liaison for Policy Matters Ohio, a nonpartisan organization with the mission of creating a more prosperous, equitable, sustainable and inclusive Ohio. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. As we discuss
Community based measures can help explain why Tomorrow, the Minority Health Strike Force assembled by Gov. DeWine will release recommendations for addressing the outsized share of COVID-19 cases in Ohio’s Black and Brown communities. Ahead of that announcement, Jasmine Ayres from Policy Matters Ohio releases the following statement and a
*This piece originally appeared in the April 2020 edition of The Columbus & Dayton African American News Journal As Ohio’s COVID-19 crisis grows, so does concern about its impact on people living and working behind bars. Many Ohioans are understandably worried about their incarcerated loved ones. They are desperately seeking
“There is no such thing as a nonracist or race-neutral policy. Every policy in every institution in every community in every nation is producing or sustaining either racial inequity or equity between racial groups.” (Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist, August 13, 2019) Since 2000, Policy Matters Ohio
Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” He knew bending the arc would take hard work and commitment from activists, community organizers, policymakers, politicians, teachers, grandmothers and clergy members. We need to turn that energy and attention to
