There will be no presents under the Christmas tree this year for Sierra Schauvilegee and her children. Schauvilegee lost her job as a nurse when the residential care facility she worked for permanently closed down at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Finding new work has proved impossible.
“This is the first year my children will not open a single gift, nothing under our tree,” said Schauvilegee, who lives in Ingalls, Kansas. “I used all my savings to survive and I begged my mother to move in until I received rental assistance and food stamps, that is all I literally have.”
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Heading into a holiday season overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and its attendant recession, millions of Americans have been left with little money and little to celebrate. Across America the haunting lines for food banks in Texas, Pennsylvania and other states paint a bleak midwinter portrait as charities struggle to cope with the financial misery left in the wake of Covid-19.
Meanwhile in Washington, Congress continues to struggle to pass a new emergency relief bill before adjourning for the holidays. And even if a bill is passed, a lag of several weeks is expected for state unemployment agencies to recommence benefits to Americans in need.
Politicians have been deadlocked over a new relief bill for months. And for Schauvilegee, a new bill will already be too late. She has lost her car due to non-payment, and through the pandemic hasn’t received any unemployment assistance. Her claim is still being adjudicated without any timeframe for when she will receive a resolution. Without a car, finding a job in her rural area has been nearly impossible.
Michelle Bell Cagley of Anderson, Indiana, was receiving unemployment after losing her job at a local plastic manufacturing plant, but it stopped suddenly in August 2020 due to an identity verification issue, and is still trying to resolve missing benefits from the weeks her account was in adjudication.
“I have three children, three young step-children, and three grandchildren. We go all out for Christmas usually. This year not at all,” she said. “Luckily my kids are older, but two of my step kids and two of my grandkids still believe in Santa, so I’ve scrapped to get those four a couple of cheap things.”
One of her daughters, Kalynn Nicole Cagley who lost her job as a server, was evicted from her home at the end of October while she was giving birth to her third child. She said her landlord pushed through the eviction after denying rental assistance she was accepted for from the state because the landlord didn’t want to file it on his taxes. They are now moving back and forth between friends’ houses.
“I’m a single mom of three kids, I worked so hard to keep rent paid, and we were successful up until November,” she said. “My five year old is having a really rough time trying to understand why we don’t have our Christmas tree, why all of their toys are in storage and why she doesn’t have her space. She asks me at least once a day if we can just go ‘home.’ Normally this time of year is spent doing crafts, baking and preparing for Santa, I’ve done my best at trying to make sure Christmas isn’t completely ruined for them but I’ve lost all hope.”
The desperate straits being experienced by millions of Americans has pushed several charity and assistance programs to the brink. Toy drives this holiday season are reporting shortages of volunteers and donations, as demand has increased due to the pandemic. Several state and local rental assistance funds have been depleted, and food banks are bracing for shortages while trying to keep up with a surge in demand.
Without a deal in Congress, the situation looks set to get worse. There are about 12 million Americans on Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance – the two emergency schemes launched in March to deal with the economic fallout from the virus. Those benefits expire before or on 26 December.
In the meantime new unemployment claims are still being filed at record levels each week. And more than 26 million American workers are still currently being negatively impacted by coronavirus.
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Around 12 million renters in the US will owe an average of $5,850 in rent and utilities by January 2020, with millions facing looming evictions from their homes when the Centers for Disease and Control eviction moratorium expires on 31 December.
Nearly 26 million American adults, 12% of adults in the US, reported their households did not get enough to eat in the past seven days, according to the most recent US Census survey data.
Melinda Cawthorne Shannon of Tampa, Florida, lost her job in restaurant management when the pandemic hit. The 60-year-old spent eight hours or more per day during the week trying to connect with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to issue and resolve her claim, and finally started to receive benefits after 14 weeks, and is still missing payments for several weeks. She cares for her daughter, who is unable to work due to several medical conditions.
“Since July 26, 2020, we have been surviving on an unemployment income of $900 a month after taxes which is Florida’s maximum unemployment payment. This amount does not even cover the cost of rent for our tiny apartment,” Cawthorne Shannon said. “We have sold all personal items, except for a car, that had any value just to pay a bill. So now we sleep on palettes or lawn chairs.” She is unsure whether they will be able to stay in their apartment after New Year.
For Thanksgiving, Cawthorne Shannon and her daughter were only able to afford to have stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwiches. This year for Christmas, they can’t afford to celebrate it at all. They are hoping next year will be better.
“Christmas will just have to be a day,” she said. “We considered sending a few Christmas cards but that would require cards and stamps. We will miss adopting angels from the Angel trees, shopping for gifts and just laughing. Because we do not know if we’ll be living in our home on the 1st of the new year we made the decision not to decorate for the season.”
Brittany Martins of Evansville, Wisconsin, was unemployed when the pandemic hit after losing her job in sales. In July, she found a part-time job but still relied on partial unemployment benefits, but those suddenly stopped after she was instructed by her state unemployment agency to file for pandemic unemployment assistance, and is still waiting to resolve her claim issues.
“I lost my car, I’m about to lose my apartment, and things are getting worse. I have basically told my kids I’m sorry, but don’t expect a Christmas or Hanukah this year,” Martins said. “They’re sad and upset but they see how we’re struggling. I told them once I start working hopefully we can do a day trip or weekend trip to make up for Christmas.”
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