Working single moms already struggle to make ends meet. Coronavirus makes it harder.

According to a 2019 Charles Schwab survey, 59% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck well before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. 

While working-class families everywhere have felt the financial impact of COVID-19, single parents have been hit especially hard. 

A report released by the U.S. Census Bureau found there are approximately 13.6 million single parents in the United States who are responsible for raising a collective 22.4 million children. 

The Department of Agriculture most recently projected that parents will spend $233,610 to raise a child from birth to age 17, which comes out to approximately $13,000 per year. In single-parent homes with more than one child, that cost can be staggering. 

Many single parents also continue to house their adult children. An analysis by the Pew Research Center points out that 32.1% of people aged 18 to 34 still live at home with their parents, though many of them contribute to the financial stability of the family. 

Sheena, a disabled mother of two, says that while her 24-year-old son remains at home, he contributes from the $8.50 he earns per hour working at a local mill — at least, he did until he was laid off due to the coronavirus. While she will be able to pay her rent for the next two months, Sheena, like many struggling single parents, wonders what is to come. 

The biggest economic issues facing working-class single parents both before and after the coronavirus seem to remain the same: child care, monthly bills, food security, and workplace sick leave and wages. 

“These struggles aren’t new, but COVID-19 will amplify them,” explains Gwen Frisbie-Fulton, an anti-poverty advocate with Down Home North Carolina.

According to Frisbie-Fulton, the two biggest issues facing single parents during the coronavirus pandemic are child care and food. But even before the virus hit, 15.9% of households headed by single mothers with children at home experienced food insecurity, according to a 2018 study by the USDA.  

“Without school meals, extra food has to be budgeted for with kids at home,”  Frisbie-Fulton says.

Amy, a single mother of two who is currently working from home, worries about who will look after her youngest child and what it will cost if and when she is called back to her hourly wage office job. 

“When my kids were in school, I didn’t worry about child care. Now I’ll be making less money and adding an additional expense,” Amy says.

Many single parents are turning to programs with lenders, utility companies, and others specifically set up to provide economic relief during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Cyndi, a single mother of two, has deferred her car payments until June. Yet she knows the fix is only temporary. 

“This is a Band-Aid measure. My car is almost 10 years old, has 192,000 miles on it, and likely will not pass inspection again,” she said.

The missed payments will be added to the back end of her loan, extending it. And with an older car, Cyndi worries that it will stop running, making it impossible for her to get to work. 

Carrie, a single mother of two who recently lost her job as a waitress, has applied for unemployment. But with over 22 million claims filed in the last four weeks, the Labor Department is struggling to keep up.  

While unemployment benefits are delayed waiting for income verification from her employer, Carrie has remained without a payment for five weeks. “It’s impossible to get anyone on the phone to try to help move things along,” she said. She is also working with her mortgage company to push back payments and add them to the end of her loan. 

While those hardest hit rely on working with individual lenders and companies to ease the financial burden during the pandemic, they also look to the CARES Act. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, “The CARES Act provides fast and direct economic assistance for American workers and families,” though it may not go far for those single parents already feeling the weight of lost income and added expenses. Many are still waiting for their stimulus payments. Others won’t receive payments for their children if they are over the age of 16.

“I am responsible for feeding and housing three adults, two of whom are college students and will not receive stimulus benefits because they are over the age threshold,” says Jennifer, a single mother to two college-age children who now live with her. She wonders whether a monthly federal allowance for the remainder of the pandemic would better serve those experiencing financial hardship. 

Frisbie-Fulton also has concerns about the CARES Act. “My fear is that it was sold as an aid package for the most vulnerable, but banks, corporations, and the rich will benefit the most,” she said.

Another issue that makes it difficult for working-class single parents during the COVID-19 pandemic is their lack of a safety net.

“Planning items such as setting up an emergency fund and taking full advantage of their employers’ retirement plan benefits are often overlooked due to the priority of providing for their children,” explains Daniel Dougherty, a financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services. 

Dougherty advises those whose monthly income has been reduced amid the pandemic to contact creditors to see if there are programs to suspend or reduce your monthly payments in order to reduce your monthly expenses. Dougherty also stresses the importance of understanding how the programs work before signing on, because many will have lasting financial implications, like higher interest rates that could damage future credit. 

Frisbie-Fulton agrees working-class single parents don’t have anything to fall back on. She’s seen many parents reach out to Down Home for help since the COVID-19 crisis “to cover bills, to cover childcare, and to buy cleaning supplies.” They never prepared for a pandemic because they couldn’t. Buying extra groceries seems impossible when trying to survive from month to month. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a glaring light on these economic hardships, and perhaps that’s a good thing. 

“The silver lining is that people are demanding the things that we have always needed to keep our communities: access to health care, worker protections, living wages, help with housing, and more,” Gwen said.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.