By HADASSAH EDELKOPF
Batya Cohhn of Teaneck, New Jersey is a mother of four boys who has been working in the preschool business for a long time. The work is appealing to her.
When Cohhn was in high school, she would spend her summers working in camps that would cater to the camp staff’s young children who needed daycare. It was then that her love for preschool grew. As an adult, she married and had four boys. After having her latest child, she worked in a preschool that allowed her to have a job and also watch her last child, who was enrolled in that school. It was convenient. Life was going smoothly until COVID hit and life as she knew it began to change drastically.
” My life has changed so much since COVID,” Batya said. ” I feel a little hopeless money-wise, and I am now on a major budget.”
[AUDIO: Listen to Cohhn talk about being unemployed.]
Cohhn is among the nearly 30 million people who have lost their jobs since the onset of Covid in March 2020.
Unemployment rates rose 14.7% by April 2020, a few weeks after government restrictions, social separation requirements, and many crucial workers became sick. This level has not been seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
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Before COVID-19 erupted in the US last March, weekly applications for unemployment benefits had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession of 2008-2009.https://t.co/6wuxZXZiRy pic.twitter.com/vBT11MgQsz
— FOX61 (@FOX61News) February 18, 2021
Many people lost their jobs, like Cohhn, and they don’t know how to tell their children. Especially, if someone has a family, it is hard for them to not be able to support them, and it takes a toll on them. Money becomes tight for routine needs.
Lately, Cohhn was upset with her marriage, so she began to think about how she can leave and have enough money to support her four boys. She did her financial analysis, and she decided that it would work.
But the job she so treasured was gone; she got cut. Finding a job in preschools during the COVID outbreak was extremely difficult. No preschool was hiring during the pandemic. She was in a bind.
“It happened so fast, I was talking to the director, and she told me that they were closing down because of COVID, and I began to cry, and all I could think about were my kids,” Batya said. “I immediately thought that there must be other schools, but after a big search I couldn’t find one open preschool.”
Cohhn doesn’t have a college degree so finding a new job that she can qualify for wasn’t in the cards. Plus, she didn’t have time to go to college after her children were put on zoom school, and she had to help them adjust to the new school environment and help them with homeschooling.
Miriam Fiber of Los Angeles, California is on the side of the job spectrum She is a senior and wants to work.
“I interviewed for a job in child care, and I didn’t get it. They told me that they were looking for a younger employee for the job,” Miriam Fiber said. “Because I am old and because of COVID it is hard for me to get a job in that business.”
Fiber is 76 years old and really likes keeping herself busy and occupied. After being laid off in the preschool she had been working in for 10 years, she began to look for a new job. Even if Fiber has enough money to support herself for years to come, she really wanted to even during COVID. She says it keeps her positive and upbeat. Like Fiber, an estimated 64 percent of Americans are looking for new jobs.
” I want to work in child care it is my passion,” Miriam said. ” I will keep on looking until I can find work in that area.”
How to Apply for Unemployment Insurance Benefits
Applicants for benefits should contact their state’s unemployment insurance program as soon as they have become unemployed. That person will receive benefits that are suited the best for them depending on their situations. There are many different ways to be provided benefits.
Another Relatable Story: Unemployment in Toledo, Ohio
I think there were some points in the audio where you could’ve let the other person talk a little bit more. Other than that, I gained a first-hand account from the audio which added another layer of depth.
I thought the audio added to your story because it made it more meaningful to hear the words come from the woman affected. It was sad to hear her talk about how she has been struggling to support her family. Her comment about them being frugal and only buying necessities was very impactful. I think this story could be continued by following up with the sources to see if they are able to find jobs within the next few months.