The survival of the independent barber & beauty professionals is at risk. We are facing a grave financial hardship, and small businesses will not survive much longer. If they already haven’t closed for good.

The survival of Tattoo professionals is at risk. We are facing Grave financial hardship.

100% of the Licensed Hair Salons and Barbershops in Pennsylvania have been abruptly shut down since the onset of the Coronavirus quarantine, even though safe measures could have been considered and taken to prevent a total shutdown. Many other businesses, such as certain Cabinet Companies, Ice cream shops, beer stores, coffee shops, etc., were deemed “essential” and left alone to operate, knowing that these businesses would most likely allow for more than one person at a given time to congregate in unsanitary, uncontrolled environments. Also knowing that it is almost impossible for those aforementioned “essential businesses” to host controlled appointments as licensed hair salons and barbershops were immediately capable of doing. I ask that those In agreement petition for all licensed hair salons and barbershops to immediately be one of the first businesses on the list to reopen. So far the petitioning has been very active and positive. I am happy to announce that in the great terms of fairness, several companies, businesses originally given “essential status”, were finally rescinded and closed.....to include The Wolf cabinet company and a candy store owned by a Senate majority leader. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog.

The survival of the independent beauty professionals is at risk. We are facing a grave financial hardship.

Independent Beauty Professionals rely on income from clients. We cannot perform salon services online. While the Beauty Industry is deemed “non essential”, the ability to practice our craft is very essential to our livelihood. We are facing grave financial hardship. Our services are also essential to our clients’ mental and emotional health as a form of self care. Salon professionals, this is a great resource for health/safety tips once allowed to reopen: salontoday.com/623817/reopening-how-to-move-forward-safely

For the past two months, North Carolina officials have been quickly mobilizing to protect the general public from the spread of coronavirus. Local businesses have been shut down, court proceedings have been suspended for 30 days and public schools will be closed until early May. More recently, Governor Roy Cooper issued a stay-at-home order to prevent human suffering and the loss of life. However, missing in all of these announcements is a plan that will protect one of the most vulnerable populations in North Carolina - North Carolinians locked away in county jails and state prisons. All available public health guidelines recommend social distancing and vigilant hygiene as the primary tools to combat the spread of COVID-19. However, these directives are impossible to follow with thousands of people currently housed inside county jails and state prisons. Oftentimes, these facilities are closed and unsanitary environments that present the highest risk of illness from COVID-19. By their very nature, prisons preclude appropriate prevention measures. Public officials have DAYS, not weeks, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Releasing as many people as possible from cages and stopping the flow of people into them is the best way to do it.

the survival of the independent beauty professionals is at risk. We are facing a grave financial hardship.

Gov. Edwards is pushing a political agenda that goes directly against the guidelines of medical professionals. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, along with several other medical organizations, issued a statement calling abortion "...an essential component of comprehensive health care" and that the "...consequences of being unable to obtain an abortion profoundly impact a person’s life, health, and well-being." People choose to have an abortion for a myriad of reasons, all of which are valid. At a time of great financial and employment uncertainty, forcing people to continue unwanted pregnancies is a gross violations of their rights. Abortion clinics in Louisiana are open and we need to pressure Gov. Edwards to make sure they stay that way.

The COVID-19 pandemic is tragically displaying the consequences of our world's broken relationship with wildlife and wild places. Experts believe that the current coronavirus likely originated with the close interaction with wildlife—that may have been illegally trafficked—in a live animal market in Wuhan, China. The disease may have originated in bats and moved to an intermediary host—possibly the highly endangered pangolin, the most trafficked mammal on earth—from which the disease jumped to humans. We have been here before. SARS, Ebola, and HIV all likely originated from the exploitation of wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. Now is the time to learn from our past actions. We must put an end to wildlife trafficking immediately. And, we must stop the unsustainable exploitation of wildlife more broadly. This is the second leading cause of the biodiversity crisis. The destruction of biodiversity, including the poaching and trafficking of wildlife, puts people in incredible danger in a variety of ways: it spreads disease, jeopardizes security, undermines the rule of law, and threatens local economies that depend on nature. This current situation helps to crystalize that good wildlife policy and conservation funding, including for enforcement, must be a very high priority to protect our health, communities, and future. Finally, it is essential to recognize that humans have all contributed to the biodiversity crisis we face, with a million species at risk of extinction in the near future. But this is no excuse for racial, ethnic, or other discrimination or retaliation. Cultures across the globe, including ours and yours, engage in some practices that are not compatible with protecting the diversity of life that exists on our planet and ourselves. And every culture has something to mend and contribute to global efforts to protect our gift of biodiversity that sustains us all. We applaud countries that have re-acknowledged the threats of wildlife trafficking by establishing and enforcing permanent bans on this illegal and deadly trade. Please join us in calling for the World Health Organization, UN and World Organization for Animal Health to take immediate action to close live wildlife markets and ban wildlife trafficking.

Substitute Teachers make up a very important segment of the states schools workforce. If substitutes stop working school districts will eventually be paralyzed trying to fill the gap. Sub Teachers should have the right to write off things like gas, lunches, supplies and insurance. Those rights are being denied because instead of paying on a 1099-Misc that allows those deductions they pay on a W2 effectively telling the IRS we are employees when they continually tell us we're not. The hypocrisy must end!

Over the span of 2020 more than 52 million Americans have filed unemployment claims across the country because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This amounts to nearly 15% of the US population who are now out of a job—and that's only those who have formally applied for benefits. The actual number of newly unemployed people is likely much larger and will continue to increase in coming months. Many people who are laid off due to COVID19 won't find work for a very long time, maybe never because some jobs lost today won't be coming back. People will need time and resources to learn and develop a new skill. By ending the $600 per week additional unemployment assistance too soon, we will certainly be dooming people to tragic futures. This will have far reaching ramifications. We need to look out for each other during these unprecedented times. Please let's help each other save and serve those who are in most need. Extend the COVID 19 Emergency $600 per week additional unemployment assistance well beyond July 31, 2020, until at least December 31, 2021 and longer if necessary. Reach me @the_draden_saga on Instagram or email

Independent Beauty Professionals rely on the income from clients. We cannot perform a haircut online. While the “beauty industry is deemed “Non essential”, the ability to practice our craft and make a living is very ESSENTIAL to our livelihood. A lot of us did not qualify for Unemployment. A lot of us did not receive any business Loans. A lot of us have not received a Stimulus Check yet. We are facing a grave financial hardship.