October 22, 2021

How the Child Tax Credit helped one WV family


(Please take less than two minutes to watch this video about the real life benefits of the  Child Tax Credit made by AFSC's JoAnna Vance and videographer Orlando Pinter--then consider calling the DC office of WV Senator Joe Manchin at the number given below.)

The Child Tax Credit is not an abstract policy; it has real impact on real people like JoAnna Vance and her family in West Virginia. Watch and share her story, then take action: Call Sen. Joe Manchin at (202) 224-3954 and tell him to support the Build Back Better agenda.

"My name is JoAnna Vance, and I am an organizer in the state and the nation.

Everything that I am today is a direct result of my recovery. The reality is, you stopped using drugs and you're in recovery and now you are there, in life, every day—not numbing your feelings, not running away from your problems, actually facing them—for probably the first time in your life.

My husband and I worked really hard to get where we are today, to give our kids the life that they have. Just like many other families, we still struggle.

When I got the Child Tax Credit in July [2021], it went straight to the pediatrician and I paid the bill that I owed for my children's health care. It was just a weight off my shoulders. You need all of the support and the help that you can get, especially in early recovery. Not having support, not having these other options, not having sustainability can all be detrimental.

The Child Tax Credit is helping people with recovery. It's helping people who have been affected directly by substance use disorder. The Child Tax Credit is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing, and it's helping our kids and helping our families in West Virginia and across the nation."

JoAnna Vance, AFSC WV Recovery Fellow

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