SINGLE MOMS OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA RECALIBRATE THEIR LIVES POST-COVID

Several single moms in Central Virginia say that they have been adjusting to their new lives post-COVID. Adjusting to new norms from virtual learning to virtual work and for some relocation. Navigating their way through 2021 left with uncertainty from last year's global pandemic left many leary of what steps to take next. All while overcoming the challenges that came along with the adjustments, they forged their way into the new norm making the best of a life changing circumstance brought on by COVID-19 whether they were directly or indirectly affected by the illness.

According to Statistica, there are over fifteen million children living in households in the United States that are headed solely by a single mother. Globally, the United States has the largest population of single parents. Amongst that population there was a reported ten million moms on leave since January, according to the US Census Bureau. With mothers typically being the nurturing element of the family and in a lot of cases working moms these factors foreseeably provide many challenges to the already incomplete family structure of a single parented household.

In the early months of 2020 as the virus began to spread rapidly across the US, schools across the nation began to shut down and some went virtual. This factor posed the first threat onto single moms across the country, especially those who would be categorized as "essential workers". Immediately childcare posed an issue. As the positive cases of the virus began to soar in numbers across the nation citizens were being sent home to quarantine due to testing positive for the virus or being furloughed due to non-essential businesses shutting down to enforce social distancing. The second threat posed to single parented households; unemployment. For some that meant taking on unemployment benefits and to many that also meant taking a pay cut. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over twenty-one million people unemployed which was a record setting highest ever recorded by the Current Population Survey.

Due to the schools shutting down during quarantine moms like Khiana Spinner had to rely on family and friends for support. "I was fortunate to have my mom and my sister to look after my girls while I went to work," she says. Due to nationwide shutdowns, Khiana like many others instantly became considered essential workers and still had to report to work. If it wasn't for her support system, she too, like many other Americans may have become unemployed.

Then there are other single moms, like Delia Paige who was fortunate enough to be able to keep her job at Genworth Financial as they took their employees virtual. She was able to have the luxury of being at home with her kids who were also on virtual status due to the pandemic. Although she was fortunate enough to be at home with her children and avoided any childcare needs, she still struggled ushering the kids through virtual learning while working remotely from home. Therefore, when it was time to send them back to school, she says she wasn't reluctant. "I wasn't hesitant to send them back to school because I know they need the hands-on instruction and interaction with their peers," says Paige.

For single mom, Shannon Dominguez, her life also took a complete turn when COVID hit her household. As a mother of two she was working at a local law firm when one of her daughters caught covid from the after-school care that she attended. "All three of us had COVID but I was the only one that got sick, but when you are a single mamma at home with two kids who aren't sick it's rough. I'm the one who cooks all the meals and I do all the dishes and laundry. Since we were quarantined, I couldn't just call anyone to come over and help, but somehow, we made it," Shannon recants. The Dominguez family endured a period of over six weeks of quarantine as the virus spread between the three of them. This isolation sent Shannon into a bout of depression. She has since recovered and is managing a new business endeavor and the new normal that COVID has presented.

Fast-forward to 2021 as the new school year emerged parents had an agonizing decision to make whether or not to send their children back to school for in-person learning or keep them home to study virtually amidst rising numbers of the Delta Variant COVID strain. Bedford County School Board Representative, Georgia W. Hairston, worked closely with the school administrators to devise protocols for post-covid school environments. "We all have to work together to do our part to protect ourselves and our peers. I am optimistic that we will be able to continue to keep our schools open. Although I don't know what things will look like during the winter months, I am hopeful that we will all do our part and think about each other and everyone's well-being to get us out of this and come back to some normalcy for our children," she states. Since the beginning of the school year Bedford County Schools sent out correspondence giving parents the option for their children to switch from in-person learning to virtual learning for the second semester due to the spike in covid cases since the beginning of the school year.

As September 6, 2021, approached many who were still unemployed for whatever reason lost unemployment benefits which were a part of a rescue plan for Americans in accordance with the national Cares Act Program. As of October 2021, over seven million people remain unemployed in the US. As single mothers who are a part of the number continue to scramble for resources, there are programs that may be able to offer some relief. Cassandra Gaines, Social Worker and Senior Child Abuse Investigator in Bedford County says that, "The state has made a childcare eligibility expansion during this time for moms to obtain childcare assistance for elementary-aged children. There has also been an expansion of food stamps and health insurance benefits because with a lot of people being unemployed, they aren't able to provide for their families like they used to, therefore they are able to still get some benefits from the Pandemic Assistance." These programs are accessible on a state level of each county of Department of Social Services. Gains encourages any single moms who may be struggling due to the aftermath of the pandemic, "it's important to advocate for yourself as a single mom. Knowing what you need in the moment and knowing that it may be temporary and seeking the help that is needed in the moment can be beneficial."