Tattoo artist have lost their income with no or delayed response from government relief, for a mandated shutdown that is putting families and individuals in financial peril

This is important because we need to make a living just like anyone else. This is our livelihood and our customers are anxious to get back in. This isolation has been stressful and a lot of our patrons use our services as a form of therapy.

Tattoo and body art professionals are trying to survive. These entrepreneurs are trained and skilled professionals who adhere to strict guidelines provided by the Board of Health and should be afforded the right to generate income. Our state is an anchor for many entrepreneurs to provide a home, safety, and nutritious food for their families, which is now being threatened by regulations that disproportionality impact tattoo artists and body art professionals. Poverty is a well known contributor to raise violence, addiction, homelessness, mental illness, and suicide. Continuing to restrict tattoo artists and body art professionals from generating income threatens the foundation of our community that has made great strides in reducing poverty, homelessness, and mental illness. Tattoo artists and body art professionals need to safely reopen their doors for business to allow Indiana to continue to make strides. Eric Holcomb proudly said "Indiana is ushering in an era of record job commitments, record infrastructure investments, and new career training opportunities, all while tackling our biggest issues head-on." Putting people first means allowing small shops and entrepreneurs to exercise their right to practice safely, which keeps Indiana as a leader in community growth.

Dogs can become sick if coats are not tended to properly! Also lost of your groomers are sole props and independent contractors and are really recieving no money at this time

Mindful of the continuing affliction of institutional and structural racism as well as the daily realities of all forms of bias, prejudice and bigotry in my own life, my family, my circle of friends, my co-workers and the society in which I live, with conviction and hope: I take this pledge, fully aware that the struggle to eliminate racism will not end with a mere pledge but calls for an ongoing transformation within myself and the institutions and structures of our society; I pledge to look deeply and continuously in my heart and in my mind to identify all signs and vestiges of racism; to rebuke the use of racist language and behavior towards others; to root out such racism in my daily life and in my encounters with persons I know and with strangers I do not know; and to expand my consciousness to be more aware and sensitive to my use of overt and subtle expressions of racism and racial stereotypes; I pledge to educate myself on racial justice issues and share what I learn in my own communities even if it means challenging my family, my partner, my children, my friends, my co-workers and those I encounter on a daily basis; I pledge, within my means, to actively work to support public policy solutions that prominently, openly and enthusiastically promote racial equity in all aspects of human affairs; and to actively support and devote my time to YWCA, as well as other organizations working to eradicate racism from our society; YWCA USA is on a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. I join YWCA in taking a stand against racism today and every day.

We need to get back to work to provide for our families!

The Survival of the Independent Beauty Professionals are at Risk. We need to re-open slowly and safely. Allow a licensed beauty professional to provide a beauty service privately with one client at a time per stylist. We will follow all the precautions that are nessasary. I Work in a salon with three full time workers and 3 part time workers, so there is always a minimum of 10 people in the salon at one time. Salons with more than 10 employers can work in shifts until this pandemic is finally over. We will wear masks and gloves, and we ask the same of our clients..Hopefully this can be a start to slowly re-opening the State of NY as soon as possible.

The survival of independent beauty and barber professionals and the financial devastation caused by the forced closure of our businesses.

The survival of the independent beauty professional 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

Licensed tattoo artists take all necessary precautions and follow all sanitary protocols implemented by the state of Iowa & our local department of health & environmental control. Servicing one client at a time in a very controlled environment {while both the artist & client wear masks & even monitor temperatures 24 hours before appointments in addition to the already implemented safety precautions} poses little to no risk of spreading the virus as compared to the virtually uncontrollable environment of many places like grocery stores & carry out/delivery food places. We already follow sanitation/sterilization guidelines akin to any doctor's office & do so in between EVERY SINGLE CLIENT. Yes, our government has set up the CARES act to help us with our income/finances but understandably, that takes time. We have all been unable to work for 4 weeks now and still, many of us having taken all the measures & provided all the documents required, have not received a single cent; yet we still have bills to pay {a lot still accruing late fees} & families to support {i.e. groceries, prescriptions, etc...} As stated above - we are facing grave financial hardships as the survival of independent tattoo professionals is at risk. Please re-open tattoo studios one client at a time BEFORE May 1st!

Tattoo Artist are technically self employed and aren’t receiving any help financially at this time. They are now told they can apply for unemployment with a 1099 but they still being denied of those benefits. They have families to support and bills that are adding up.