Because of the corona virus I am not able to go to work, church and socialize with my friend. I am scared to go to to grocery store because I don’t want to get infected by the virus and bring it to my family. Even though I talk to my family like my mother on the phone but I don’t want to go to her house because since she is old and I am not tested I don’t want to expose her to the virus. I don’t want to be the one to bring it to her. My kids are now are in the house all the time I need to have extra food in my pantry because the eat more than before.

I’m a diabetic person I’m very scared but in the mane of Jesus this virus will go far away from me and my family. Now I seating every day no work no money , this virus arrives like Bigger storm No time to do nothing and save anything my biggest problem i got bill to pay .

Being in Quarantine due to COVID-19 is great at times and challenging in others. I am a mother of 3 school age children and am currently working from home. Finding balance between work and assisting the kids with their school work has been challenge that I am currently working. I am grateful for the full support of my kids teachers in providing lessons and following up with their educational needs. The struggle is when I try to focus on my work but still need to facilitate and support the kids learning ( answer questions, work on practice problems, review skills they are struggling with and provide attention. I feel guilty and feel like I am not always giving them the attention that they need to thrive in the virtual school setting. On the flip side, we are engaging in more crafting activities and bonding in new ways. Apart from spending time with family, I am personally taking time after I finish my work to focus on my personal growth by reading, taking notes and journaling to keep my sanity.

I was laid off from work, March 20th due to the covid 19. It’s been over a month out of work and I filed for unemployment. I haven’t received my taxes yet it’s a 6-9 week wait for that, and I haven’t got my stimulus check either. I have about $100 left to my name and I have a few bills due at the house to help out with my portion. Struggle to pay bills and keep food in the house, I take care of my mother because she’s partially blind, she’s get SSI every month but even with that and what I had left over we’re just hitting ends meet. My aunt got sick from the virus about 2 weeks ago and she’s an elderly lady 75 with heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes. She’s not doing to well right now, what sucks the most is that if your family member gets sick you can’t even visit them. I pray every night that she fights the battle and come home to all of her family. I pray it’ll be over soon, I barely have groceries in the house to make food at night it’s a really big hassle right now. I’m not asking for too much but anything will help right now until my income tax comes in. This pandemic is messing up everything so far but I’m keeping hope and faith alive. I read my Bible every night before I lay to rest, praying for better days and praying that the world gets back normal.

I lost my night job. Now I don’t know how the bills going to get paid.

A couple of months ago, I attended a Cost of Poverty simulation and it was very eye opening. Now with this virus impacting our way of life, it has become more difficult to access services. I feel that for many of our residents who doesn’t receive government assistance, they are now getting a taste of how difficult it is to access services from the government.