NC Rep.: North Carolinians are desperate. State must clear a safe path to reopen now.

NC should reopen

I was invited to join ReOpenNC by a Facebook friend. The page began to grow with comments from everyday North Carolinians scared of the financial blow to their well-being. They haven’t received a paycheck in weeks and promised federal stimulus money and state unemployment benefits aren’t coming fast enough, if at all.

North Carolina needs to clear a pathway to reopen businesses. Many citizens have been denied unemployment benefits and are now being told the federal unemployment money cannot be applied for in North Carolina until April 25. That means that benefits will not be paid for several more days. This is tragic; the flow of money has taken too long.

We need a plan. Engage health care professionals, economists and business owners to devise a plan that keeps health and safety in mind. Choose a reasonable date and let’s work toward it to slowly get things back to normal.

I’m not advocating to release the floodgates so people can swarm to restaurants, but let’s unveil a plan that gives people hope and confidence that we will get back to normal at some point in the very near future.

N.C. Rep. Chris Humphrey, Kinston

NC protesters

To all you “brave” protesters marching in near the governor’s mansion, I dare you to instead protest outside your local hospital, grocery store, fire department, nursing home, or bus station – anywhere there are people putting their lives at risk every day because they can’t stay home.

You don’t think this virus is as bad as the experts say? I dare you to make that argument face-to-face with family members of the more than 10,000 people who have died from COVID-19 in New York City alone.

None of us disagree with your desire to lift restrictions and have things back to normal, but most of us want to be alive to enjoy that day when it happens.

Janice Horner, Raleigh

Economic damage

Regarding “Your community’s restaurants need more help to survive,” (April 15 Opinion):

I was moved by Ashley Christensen’s op-ed. Here is someone concerned about her people. The Paycheck Protection Program has turned out to be sham and small business and sole proprietor’s are in real pain.

The one thing missing from her op-ed was a call for Gov. Roy Cooper to open up this state for business right now. There are an estimated 1.1 million residents in Wake County and a reported 557 sick.

The risk of catastrophic economic damage is a real threat not being shouted loud enough. I am hoping to see some courageous business leaders make a call for the state to responsibly get back in motion.

J.D. Howard, Raleigh

Small businesses

My bar, Isaac Hunter’s Tavern in Raleigh, has been shuttered for over a month due to COVID-19 and we are running out of money. I’m not in favor of reopening North Carolina until it is safe to do so.

What I am in favor of is throwing the small business owners in our country a lifeline, not just loans we can never repay. We need targeted aid that is specific to the hospitality industry.

We need more relief, and we need flexibility on how to use it.

We need the government to find ways to compel banks and landlords to work with their small-business tenants until we can get back to full capacity. We need to find a way to weather this storm together.

Zack T. Medford, Raleigh

Isolation

In North Carolina, more than 788,000 people over the age of 50 live alone and are at higher risk of social isolation, which is now magnified by social distancing requirements.

The long-term effects of social isolation are very real. Over a prolonged period, isolation is more dangerous to one’s health than obesity, and it’s linked to a greater likelihood of early death, accelerated cognitive decline, poor cardiovascular function, and depression in adults 50 and older.

We may have all scaled back our personal interactions to stay safe, but that doesn’t mean we have to be alone. Today’s technology offers myriad ways to keep in touch with family, friends, neighbors and loved ones. Go to states.aarp.org to learn more.

Michael Olender

Director, AARP North Carolina

A community hero

Recently, our community lost a rare leader when Ray Eurquhart passed away. “Brother Ray” lived most of his life in Durham’s Southside neighborhood, where he was born. He never stopped working for or giving back to his community.

For more than four decades he worked tirelessly to bring greater justice and equality to the lives of those around him. Ray said that retirement gave him the chance to work 24/7 for others. He devoted countless hours to revitalizing Southside. For years he was a leading advocate for affordable housing in Durham, helping lead the Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit, the Peoples Alliance, and the Durham Housing Authority board.

Ray was unique and irreplaceable. But he would want us to continue working for the just, progressive, compassionate community he believed in. With him as our inspiration, let’s do just that.

Wib Gulley, Durham

This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 1:50 PM.