Anonymous
Chattanooga Tennessee
"We were told to stay home. Which makes myself and others vulnerable for food insecurity, housing insecurity, and many other things. If I don’t supplement my income by working, I cannot pay my bills."
Ryan Roach: What has your experience been like during the pandemic?
Anonymous: Frightening, depressing, frustrating, angering.
RR: What has your day-to-day been like?
A: My day-to-day experience during the pandemic has changed and evolved over time. I spent three months, April, May and June, at home. Only two people have been in my home since March, a brother and sister, friends, who live together. In July I began working very limited hours in one home at a time, with a family who is cautious about the virus. I work as a nanny, caring for children in their homes. Because I have a disability that isn’t visible to people, I prefer not to share that information with most people I meet. It isn’t relevant to my job performance, but there is a stigma attached.
Then, my employer was laid off. In August I had surgery. In September I started working again. My employer was laid off again. I’m now looking for a new job in another home that is virus conscious, to limit my exposure.
Being confined to my home with no physical touch and almost no social interaction was devastating. I have a history of major depression. It is difficult for me to do housework, also, but life became dominated by it as I was forced to lay off my housekeeper. Housework seems to consume my whole day by slowly doing these chores others can do quickly. Most of it doesn’t get done.
RR: What has your experience been like coping during the pandemic?
A: To try to ward off serious depression from returning, in the beginning I had to rigidly force myself to do routine things. I kept a list of everything I did including opening the blinds in the morning to let in sunlight. Some days that’s all I managed to do. I reach out by phone, text and email to the few people I am close to. I have asked people who I used to work for to send me pictures of my kids I nannied, and I hung them around my house.
RR: What are your thoughts on how the government and the media have been treating these populations they have deemed “vulnerable”?
A: The government has given lots of lip service to the idea of protecting vulnerable populations, but I know of nothing that has been done to protect me, or help me, or others in a vulnerable position. We were told to stay home. Which makes myself and others vulnerable for food insecurity, housing insecurity, and many other things. If I don’t supplement my income by working, I cannot pay my bills.
RR: Moving forward, how would you like the government to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: I would like our government to be honest and stop lying to us, and quit causing division amongst people. I would like them to stop screwing around and support us in many ways, including financially. I would like to see any congressperson live off of $1,20054 from April until the present, which today is October 27.