MIAMI VALLEY — Despite many Ohio industries back up and running, plenty of Miami Valley families continue to face major economic challenges due to the pandemic…some stemming from jobs that have not returned; others form other impacts of COVID-19.
News Center 7′s Sean Cudahy spoke with a Huber Heights single mother of four who said she’s been unable to return to work full time because her children’s daycare provider has not reopened yet, and others she has looked into are not taking new children.
She’s also lost unemployment pay I recent weeks.
“it’s like I’m dealing with the stress of the kids being stuck at home, me literally having no money, I’m trying to find ways of bringing food into my house and begging places to help me pay my bills and this is completely out of character, I’m not one to ask for money or help at all,” said the mother, who did not want to be identified, not wanting the public to know the challenges her family is facing behind closed doors.
“It’s just like being smacked left and right by new things,” she said.
The economic challenges of the pandemic are seen up close at Food Bank Dayton. Leaders there say demand has stabilized since the spring months, but they continue to serve families at an above average rate. The Food Bank says it’s seeing a typical number of families, 250, at each two-hour drive thru, but instead of two drive thru events per week, it’s currently holding three.
“We’re hearing from a lot of families who have expended that stimulus payment, that’s gone, they really kind of spent all the funds they had set aside to survive an emergency and they’re still working from home, or working limited hours, or paying for additional childcare,” said Lee Lauren Truesdale, Chief Development Officer. “So, all of those things again are really impacting the budget at the end of the day.”
Those challenges are what the Huber Heights mother WHIO spoke with is facing. However, she said she’s doing her best to ensure her kids do not notice what is happening.
“I don’t want them to ever be able to look back on this time and think oh I remember when mom was struggling,” she said. “I want them to enjoy being kids.”