R.I.P. Paid Leave Champion Kesha Scrivner

All of us at Family Values @ Work feel like we’ve gotten to know Kesha Scrivner over the past two years. Some of us worked directly with her visiting members of the D.C. City Council as she shared what it means to receive chemo or radiation on your lunch hour and then go back to work because you have no paid leave. Others heard her moving testimony at a packed hearing, telling Council members, “It would mean a lot to me if the government that I have dedicated myself to for over 18 years [as a Public Services Assistant] supports the residents in this city by passing the Universal Paid Leave.Act.”

The rest of us know Kesha from her presence in the powerful documentary Zero Weeks. There we have seen the energy, love and kind heart of this magnificent woman, who despite her own illness, made time to help with a neighbor’s children, to bring extra supplies to her daughter’s school, to greet and hug the guards at the Metro station and in her office building, to be an active member of her church community. We will especially cherish her loving and playful exchanges with her young daughter, Kahlani, and the excitement in Kahlani’s eyes as she ran to greet her mama at the end of the school day.

May you rest in peace, dear Kesha. We will hold you in our hearts and draw on your spirit as we fight to make sure that no one, as you so aptly put it, has the worry of “choosing between work, kids, roof, food” and the time they need to heal.

We encourage you to support Kesha’s daughter Kahlani by contributing to this GoFundMe campaign.