NEW YORK (AP) – Last Christmas, Shanita Matthews cooked a festive meal for her family of three: roast chicken, barbecue ribs, spinach, macaroni and cheese.
This year? They stick to tuna and crackers, one of the few items she can afford at the supermarket.
“We don’t really do Christmas – I think you can put it that way,” said Matthews, who lives in Suwanee, Georgia. “We struggle. We are tired and I only have my faith. “
Like nearly 10 million other Americans, Matthews has been unemployed since the viral pandemic swept through the U.S. economy in March, causing a devastating recession and widespread unemployment. Now, many months later, they face a holiday they could hardly have foreseen a year ago: too little money to buy gifts, cook big festive meals, or pay all their bills.
According to research by Bruce Meyer at the University of Chicago, nearly 8 million people have fallen into poverty since June after issuing $ 1,200 checks that the government gave most Americans in the spring and an additional $ 600 a week unemployment benefit expiring in July. two other colleagues. And finding a job gets even more difficult: November hiring slowed for the fifth straight month, with U.S. employers adding the fewest jobs since April.
Some relief could – possibly – be on the way. This week, Congress approved a $ 900 billion pandemic rescue package that includes $ 300 per week unemployment benefits, cash payments of up to $ 600 for most individuals, and an extension of comprehensive unemployment relief programs that are about to expire . On Tuesday evening, however, President Donald Trump expressed doubts about that urgently needed federal aid by attacking the bailout package as inadequate and suggesting that he might not sign it.
Help can’t come fast enough for Matthews in the meantime. Now that her bank balance is negative, she worries that her account could be closed if she doesn’t receive financial aid soon.
Matthews, 41, has struggled with her finances since she had to close her wedding business in March, when ceremonies were canceled and the need for the centerpieces and flower arrangements she’d created suddenly disappeared. Matthews did not receive unemployment benefits from the Georgian Labor Department. She doesn’t understand why and appeals the decision. But the process is so slow that she has waited months to be heard.
Despite being a registered nurse, Matthews has been unable to find a job. She can only work until late because she often has to help her 6-year-old daughter, who has to learn virtually at home when the virus cases in her school peak.
Matthews’ car was impounded after she couldn’t keep up with the payments. Most of what her husband earns goes towards a $ 1,600 mortgage on their home. That means they have about $ 200 a month for groceries, utilities, and a $ 50 internet bill – a necessity for her daughter’s schoolwork.
Matthews hopes a family member can get in and buy her daughter a Christmas present.
“We want to have food, water and heat,” she said. “Those are the things we care about.”
Charities say they are overwhelmed with requests for help, a sign that many are in dire financial straits. The United Way expects the number of calls to the 211 hotline it funds will double from last year to 20 million calls, mainly from people who need help paying rent or electricity bills. Feeding America says many people show up at food banks its first timers.
In desperation, Sheyontay Molton turned to Twitter for help after a series of events left her running out of money to buy presents for her four children.
Her children’s father lost his job this year. Molton, who is 28 and lives in San Antonio, Texas, had to temporarily stop working as a delivery driver for DoorDash after falling debris from a truck seriously damaged her car in October. She used some of her rent to fix it and left it in bills.
After noticing on Twitter that influencers and celebrities on social media were providing money to some needy people, Molton created an account and tweeted about her situation. Someone sent her $ 200 through an app – money she wants to use for groceries. Another couple on Twitter asked her to create an Amazon wish list and then bought a doll, cars and other toys for her children for Christmas.
Without the donations, Molton planned to tell her young children that Santa could not come because he was taking extra precautions for the coronavirus.
“Crazy, I know,” she said, but “it would have given me more time.”
The struggles of low-income and unemployed workers contribute to a weak holiday buying season that is likely to slow down the economy as a whole. Retail trade has fallen 1.1% in November, a month that is typically strong as gift buying gets underway. Some economists expect retail sales to drop again this month, especially as governments are imposing more business restrictions and increasing cases of coronavirus keep consumers away from shops and restaurants.
A scaled-back vacation is what Summer Kluytman had in mind. She had to tell her two teenage sons not to expect the kind of Christmas gifts they normally got in the past, like the $ 400 Oculus virtual reality headset that was under the tree last year.
After losing two art education jobs, Kluytman had to go on food stamps to help pay for groceries. Her husband’s salary, who works for a cable company, goes towards the rent of their home in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Kluytman is spending $ 100 on each son for hoodies and other clothing this Christmas, instead of the $ 500 she spent on each child last year. She plans to have movie nights where they gather in the living room to watch a movie.
“I think they think it’s cool that we spend time together instead of a lot of things under the tree,” she said. “But it does break my heart a bit.”
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Rugaber reported from Washington.