Youngstown mayor Tito Brown spoke today in front of Washington lawmakers to talk about what the city of Youngstown needs in terms of coronavirus relief.

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, was chaired by for the first time today by Sherrod Brown.
That committee heard testimony from who Brown says suffered the most during the pandemic. That included Youngstown.

Senator Sherood Brown says he wants the Senate to pass the Direct Support For Communities Act, which he says will provide direct federal assistance to cities, towns and counties who were hit hardest economically by the coronavirus. He says Ohio towns, especially are suffering and need help.

"Millions of workers have little economic security they can't get a foothold in this economy no matter how hard they work. Many families are one emergency away from draining what savings they have, turning to a pay day lender or getting evicted," said the Senator.

And since cities like Youngstown depend on income taxes for funding, a drastic loss of jobs means a lot less coming in to city coffers.
Mayor Tito Brown explains what he hopes the feds can do to help cities like Youngstown.

"It should include, as outlined by President Biden, assistance with the production and distribution of Covid 19 vaccinations, rental assistance for families, transit assistance so busses can continue running for essential workers to work, direct revenue replacement for cities and small business support so hard working small business owners can keep their workforce," said Mayor Brown.

Youngstown's unemployment rate is now at 12.5% nearly double what it was before Covid.