Resource Page: Coronavirus

This resource page focuses on COVID-19 and how its impact intersects with Texas Appleseed's projects and the various populations we work to help. These resources are also available on our related project pages and/or our press room and blog. When a new link or resource is added below, the time stamp will be updated here:
Last updated: August 25, 2020, 12:50 p.m. CDT

Juvenile Justice

Letter to Travis County Officials and Judges re: COVID-19 & Texas Juvenile Facilities and Detention Centers (March 27, 2020)

Letter to Bexar County Officials and Judges re: COVID-19 & Texas Juvenile Facilities and Detention Centers (March 27, 2020)

Letter to Gov. Abbott from Texas Appleseed, Texans Care for Children, IDRA and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition regarding youth in Texas’ juvenile facilities and detention centers (March 19, 2020)

National statement from youth justice advocates in 22 states, signed by Texas Appleseed, regarding stopping new admissions and removing youth from facilities to reduce youth risk of infection (March 19, 2020)

Criminal Justice

Toolkit for Texas County Officials to Prevent COVID-19 in Jails by Texas Appleseed, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and Texas chapter of Doctors for America (April 6, 2020)

For additional resources related to our advocacy to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on people in the criminal legal system, visit www.covid19intexasjails.com 

Fair Financial Services

Blog post by Ann Baddour, Texas Appleseed, and Lourdes Zuniga, Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas: With Stimulus Payments Arriving, Watch for Scammers Gearing to Take Your Money (April 17, 2020)

Letter to Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan, requesting action to ensure fair pricing and charges regarding auto insurance (April 8, 2020). Related: Blog Post, Auto Insurance Must be Priced Fairly During the Coronavirus Pandemic (April 14, 2020)

Letter to the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner from the Texas Fair Lending Alliance, of which Texas Appleseed is a member, and Faith Leaders 4 Fair Lending (March 19, 2020)

Texas Standard radio interview with Ann Baddour, Director of Fair Financial Services: Making Hard Financial Choices Means Prioritizing Basic Needs, Expert Say (March 17, 2020)

Education Justice

Letter to lawmakers from several advocay organizations to allocate sufficient emergency relief funding to address the needs of schools and students and to promote educational equity (July 27, 2020)

Open Letter from Advocates to State Policymakers, Officials, and Administrators Regarding Education Justice Responses to COVID-19 (May 15, 2020)

National open letter focused on violations of legal obligations, sent to state and local education leaders. The letter was signed by more than 50 national, state and local organizations committed to education equity for marginalized students across our nation (May 8, 2020)

Letter to Texas school districts from several advocacy organizations regarding student discipline and COVID-19, requesting a commitment to count distance-learning days for purposes of both DAEP and JJAEP placement lengths when the district reopens (April 28, 2020)

Letter to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from several justice organizations encouraging the state of Texas to direct the additional and repurposed educational funds obtained through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act toward the state’s most vulnerable students (April 23, 2020)

Youth Homelessness/Education

Letter to the Texas Education Agency from Texas Appleseed, IDRA and Disability Rights Texas urging TEA to issue guidance to support students experiencing homelessness (August 20, 2020)

Blog post by Brett Merfish, Texas Appleseed’s Director of Youth Justice: Homeless Liaison Survey Results: Bright Spots & Our Policy Recommendations (June 9, 2020)

Blog post by Brett Merfish, Texas Appleseed’s Director of Youth Justice: Student Homelessness & COVID-19 (April 19, 2020)

Cross-Programmatic

Letter to the Houston Mayor and City Council from the HOME Coalition and our community partners demanding an end to the dangerous requirement that people show up in person to give public comment at City Council meetings (May 12, 2020)

Letter to Gov. Greg Abbott
, requesting additional emergency assistance from FEMA for COVID-19 (April 8, 2020). Related: Blog Post, Texas Needs All the Resources It Can Get to Fight COVID-19 (April 18, 2020)

The Core, Texas Appleseed's blog: COVID-19 and Our Most Vulnerable Communities by Deputy Director Brennan Griffin (March 19, 2020)

Letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, outlining the most urgent and necessary recommendations to ensure the wellbeing and safety of our communities in Texas jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities (March 16, 2020)