Maryland has a rainy-day fund, so why not use it? Community members and state and local leaders made that appeal Wednesday to help failing businesses, people behind on rents and families short on food.
At a virtual event sponsored by the Montgomery County Council, President Tom Hucker and several others, including business owners and first responders, appealed for state help.
“Our rotating bills do not stop,” said Lakeisha Battle, of Southern Peach BBQ and Soul Food in Suitland. “I have depleted my complete savings just to save 50% of my employees from being jobless and homeless.”
Going to work every day fighting the coronavirus and staving off the pandemic devastation facing the community is “relentless,” according to Brian Holtslander, a firefighter and paramedic in Anne Arundel County. “Our firefighters and paramedics are exhausted and our PPE is stretched thin,” he said.