Angelina Jolie has urged Congress to help families struggling for food.
Angelina Jolie
The 'Maleficent' star has called for senior politicians to increase food stamp benefits for families across the United States in a bid to help them amidst the current coronavirus pandemic.
Writing in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, she said: "Many of the most vulnerable children in America have missed nearly 740 million meals at school, due to closure resulting from the rapid spread of coronavirus. With parents facing lost jobs and wages, many of these children are going hungry ... While strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not alleviate all of the challenges low-income families are facing during the public health emergency, it will help ensure that fewer children go to bed hungry in our country."
It comes after Angelina penned an article about the increase in child abuse amidst the pandemic.
Writing in an op-ed, she said: "Isolating a victim from family and friends is a well-known tactic of control by abusers, meaning that the social distancing that is necessary to stop COVID-19 is one that will inadvertently fuel a direct rise in trauma and suffering for vulnerable children. There are already reports of a surge in domestic violence around the world, including violent killings. It comes at a time when children are deprived of the very support networks that help them cope: from their trusted friends and teachers to after-school sports activities and visits to a beloved relative's house that provide an escape from their abusive environment. COVID-19 has cut children off from their friends, their regular schooling and their freedom of movement. With well over a billion young people living under lockdown worldwide, there has been a lot of focus on how to prevent children missing out on their education, as well as how to lift their spirits and keep them joyful in isolation."
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