Brittany: An Unemployed Mother Still Waiting on Government Benefits

The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating for Brittany Baker. 

When she became pregnant in November 2019, she was working on the cleaning staff at a hospital.  Brittany was put on leave because she was high risk, and the hospital was worried about liability if she experienced pregnancy complications at work. In March, when the pandemic hit and the hospital extended the length of time they would not let her come to work, Brittany immediately filed for unemployment.

“I didn’t hear anything until July,” Brittany said. “I waited 16 weeks while I was on appeal. I didn’t hear anything.”

It was an especially devastating blow because right before the pandemic hit, she had just begun to feel financially stable. 

Three years before, most of Brittany’s belongings were destroyed in a house fire. She and her children lived with family for a few years while she saved up money for their own place. She worked as an Assistant Manager at Arby’s at the time, and was able to save enough money to replenish their belongings and get a new place. She moved her family to their own home in February 2020. 

With the hospital refusing to let her return to work because of her health conditions, and no government assistance coming through, Brittany struggled to provide for her family. With her ability to travel limited, she was unable to go to her church for assistance, and relied on a food pantry to bring her groceries. 

“I didn’t have a car,” she explained. “So it was hard for me to get out and get anything. I didn’t have any food or clothes. I didn’t have a way to wash clothes. It got really hard.”

For three months, Brittany called every day about her missing unemployment benefits. In the meantime, her bills piled up. 

On top of the financial stress, Brittany was worried about the health of her family. She had asthma and was pregnant. Her son has a heart condition that left him immunocompromised and her four-year-old daughter has severe allergies, and as a single mother, she had been the family’s only source of income. 

“Depression [became an] issue,” she said. “Before the pandemic we were doing well. We had everything we needed. It was like the [rug] was pulled out from under us.”

Brittany used a $500 grant from SaverLife and MetLife Foundation to make ends meet. 

“I was $265 short on rent,” she said. “I don’t want to make a problem because this my place and I love it, because now I have a home.”

She used some of the money to catch up on rent in hopes of showing her landlord that she was trying her best to pay her bills. She used the rest on groceries, toilet paper, and blankets, and a heater for the baby. 

“It gave people a little incentive to believe in me,” she said. 

In July, Brittany gave birth to a third child. But something went wrong after she gave birth. She could barely walk and was sent home from the hospital on crutches. Doctors told her she had sciatic nerve pain. To Brittany, it felt like a permanent Charley horse. After doing some research on her own, she thought she had a blood clot. 

“I went back to the hospital,” she said. “And I did have a blood clot.”

The blood clot couldn’t have come at a worse time. The hospital was finally going to let Brittany return to work in a few weeks, but now she’s worried they will make her stay home because of the new health issue. 

“I don’t want to tell my job,” she said. “I don’t want to lie but I need to go back to work.”

More than six months into the pandemic, Brittany still has yet to receive any government assistance. She’s scheduled appointments with Job and Family Services, but they’ve been no-shows. She’s hopeful that once she explains why she was on a six-month leave of absence before the pandemic hit, she’ll be able to receive the backpay of benefits and get caught up on her bills. 

Brittany is determined to go back to work as soon as they will let her. However, she worries that returning to work will make receiving unemployment benefits for the months she was out of work even more difficult. 

But as she said, “I make $15 an hour. Who wouldn’t want to go back to work? Nothing’s going to change for me unless I can get back to work.”

If nothing else, Brittany knows that when tax season comes around in early 2021, she will get some money back from the Earned Income Tax Credit. In the meantime, she’s facing tough decisions.

“I’m three months behind on rent,” Brittany said. “[Now I have to decide], do I want to pay rent or fill up my refrigerator? And now it’s getting cold and my kids don’t have any pants or coats.” 

Brittany is dreaming of a future where she’s once again able to provide a financially secure home for her three children. 

“Once this is all over I just want to continue being a mom,” Brittany said. “This took my title away from me.”