(WXYZ) — In tonight's 7 UpFront report we're taking a closer look at the governor's new state task force to tackle poverty during the pandemic.
We're being joined by Kim Trent, Deputy Director for Prosperity With the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, who is also newly appointed to the task force.
You can see the full interview in the video player above.
"The governor put the poverty task force together in December of 2019, so we really think she was prescient long before we know the coronavirus was going to be the devastating phenomenon that it is," Trent says. "She pulled together 14 state department directors and brought them to the table with the idea of really building a state agenda, policy agenda, to really help those Michiganders who are struggling. We have about 43% of Michiganders who are not able to, working Michiganders who go to work every day, but are still not able to pay for their basic needs, things like housing, food, and being able to send their kids to school so they can have a quality educational experience."
