The coronavirus pandemic has brought big changes in how Americans work.
Some are fortunate to work from home, while others, including health care workers and delivery drivers, still have to go out in public.
…Both women are also supporting children at home.
Humphreys, a single mother who is caring for her son and niece, says she is trying to save money by limiting the use of air conditioning, even though the temperatures in Austin have been in the mid-90s.
She’s also trying to hold off on grocery shopping.
“I started going through my freezer, we are eating everything that’s in the freezer before I have to buy groceries again,” she says. “I’m trying to go through all the canned foods.”
She will lose her health insurance next month, so her son’s father will put her son on his insurance. But for herself, things are uncertain. A survivor of thyroid cancer, Humphreys says she “can’t be without medication.”
“What I tried to do was refill all of my medications for 90 days for now,” she says. “I at least have that for now.”
Lee says she is barely getting by. She has three children and her husband was recently laid off from his job as a trucker. She says he’s receiving unemployment benefits, but combined with her income, that’s “barely” enough to support everyone.
“American Workers Confront Range Of Challenges During The Coronavirus Pandemic”. April 2020. Wbur.Org.