This commentary is by Jessica Arencibia, owner of Healing Arts Massage in South Burlington and a member of the Main Street Alliance of Vermont.
My name is Jessica Arencibia and I am the owner of Healing Arts Massage in South Burlington and the wife of Oscar Arencibia, owner of Santiago’s in the New North End.
I started my small business in 2020 but I, like many women and people of color here in Vermont, worked in the service industry and never once had access to benefits like paid family and medical leave or health care provided through my employer. Even now, as a solo-entrepreneur, those support benefits are often out of reach or inaccessible entirely.
As I consider the critical programs outlined in the Build Back Better agenda, I know that there have been so many times in my life where the system hasn’t worked for me. I know what it is to be one of those people who falls through the cracks.
- I’ve seen how our elder care system continues to fail our families as I watch my father care for my grandparents with little to no support.
- I know what it was to lose our income and our health care when my husband was laid off during the pandemic.
- I know how lucky I was to walk away from a car accident just a few months ago because if it had been worse, the loss of my income would have devastating consequences on our ability to pay our bills.
- And I know that, as my husband and I look to the future, we have deep concerns about how we will afford paid parental leave and access to child care.
The passage of the full scope of the Build Back Better package, including paid family and medical leave, will help all of our workers, our families, our communities, and our small businesses be more resilient in the future, and it will help Vermont attract and retain new workers and families.
Build Back Better will begin to break the cycle of gender, racial and socioeconomic inequity by leveling the playing field so that everyone has the ability to health and safety first.
So I write today today to lift my voice for the single parent who is working two jobs to keep a roof over their head and food on the table.
I write for the mother who had to leave the workforce because there was no child care.
I write for the son who is caring for both his elderly parent and two teenage children.
I write for all workers and families who are living paycheck to paycheck.
And I write for the growing number of small businesses and solo-entrepreneurs who are doing all they can to take care of their workers and stay afloat.
Vermont’s workers, all families, all small businesses deserve security during life’s most important moments and Build Back Better will help us do that. It’s 2021 — its time.
