July 19, 2021

Senator Elizabeth Warren 2400 JFK Federal Building 15 New Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02203

Senator Ed Markey 975 JFK Federal Building 15 New Sudbury St Boston, MA 02203

Dear Senators Warren and Markey:

As a Massachusetts startup company dedicated to supporting unpaid caregivers and their families, we write to extend our support and appreciation for your recent efforts to co- sponsor S. 2210, the Better Care Better Jobs Act.

Recently, team members at our organization, ARCHANGELS, co-authored a nationwide study with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on unpaid caregivers. The results of the study are staggering and quantify the struggles that so many households are battling on a daily basis. Seventy percent of caregivers reported adverse mental health symptoms like anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts during COVID-19. Of the 23% of the adults in our nation who are serving as ‘sandwich generation’ (serving as parents or guardians while also caring for older loved ones), a full 52% were having serious suicidal thoughts. That amounts to one in ten adults in our nation actively thinking about suicide because of their sandwich generation caregiver roles. That’s a call to action if we’ve ever seen one.

The pandemic did not create this crisis for caregivers, but this study proves that COVID- 19 exacerbated problems and is sounding the alarm that Washington must act now to support this population and their loved ones. Factors like family disagreements, financial stress and not having enough personal time were identified by caregivers and showed a significant correlation to conditions like anxiety and depression.

At ARCHANGELS, part of our mission is to connect caregivers with resources in their communities that are available to provide relief and much needed support. Home and community-based services to help with cooking, cleaning and transportation or mental health resources like counseling can be a gamechanger to caregivers and their loved ones. Recent data proves that now, more than ever, there is a growing population of caregivers who would benefit from more support. In fact, feeling supported is the strongest protective measure for mental health. Helping these caregivers realize the role they play, appreciating them for it, and getting them connected to support that can help may be the single best economic opportunity of our nation.

As the Senate continues to work on the $3.5 trillion budget deal, we urge you to include provisions from the Better Care Better Jobs Act in this package so that more funding and resources can be delivered to our caregivers now.

Our ARCHANGELS team is committed to reaching out to more caregivers in Massachusetts and across the country to help more people realize their valuable role as parents and caretakers for our aging parents and loved ones in need. We are collaborating with leading organizations like Care.com to push our initiative forward and we’re more motivated than ever to get more people connected to critical support services to make a difference in their daily lives. The return on investment on saved caregiver lives may feel hard to talk about, but the positive economic impact of better lives lived by all will feel universally good. We remain grateful for your ongoing partnership to support this meaningful legislation and appreciate your willingness to consider our humble request.

Sincerely and with great admiration,

Alexandra Drane ARCHANGELS CEO/Co-Founder