Guest essay: Decision to cut off benefits harms W.Va.

families
Submitted to The Dominion Post,  July 24, 2021, by Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer

In May, it was decided West Virginia should forego enhanced unemployment benefits. Since there
are plenty of job vacancies, it was concluded some receiving benefits must not want to work.

These benefits would have been provided to West Virginians at no cost to the state. The economic
loss to them, and to our state, will be over $240 million, according to the Century Fund.

All these people could not possibly have been cheaters.

In June, more than 40 people from around the state contacted me to explain how the end of the
enhanced unemployment benefits would affect them. Below are just two of their stories.

◘ Aimee, who grew up in Monongalia County, said  she’d had a great job, but was laid off when
COVID caused her employer to close. She missed work a couple of months after giving birth at the
end of 2019; her child lived for one day. That lost work time reduced the amount of compensation for
which she would have been eligible, without the enhancement, to only $39 per week. She lives in
what she describes as a junky trailer with no water with her boyfriend and 15-year-old son. Aimee is
on oxygen and sees a pulmonologist and cardiologist for COVID-like symptoms.          

◘ Jonathon, who resides in Kanawha County, lost his job at a research company that closed for
good because of COVID. Over 80 lost their employment. He cares for his stepfather of 82, who had
triple by-pass surgery and his mother, who has COPD. He has a 10-year-old, an 11-year-old and
one in college. He said he needed the enhanced benefits to “stay afloat” in a time of great financial
uncertainty.

I recently contacted Aimee and Jonathan to see how they are doing now.

Aimee and her boyfriend have $100 between them. When asked how they manage without water,
she explained they gather rainwater and fill jugs at a local gas station. The car they bought for
$1,000 broke down; repair cost exceed that, so they can’t fix it. In addition to heart and lung
problems, Aimee has severe depression. Her mom offered to help her find a trailer to put on
property she owns. At age 44, Aimee is embarrassed she has to ask her family to bail her out. She’s
grateful her boyfriend will start a job in August he can do from home, but worries how they’ll manage
until his first paycheck arrives.   

Jonathon found a job and the pay is OK, but scheduling is not as flexible, so he had to leave his
parents alone during work time. Because his mother fell one evening and broke an ankle, he will
have to hire someone to tend for her while he’s working, as well as find money for his son’s
expenses at college. Monthly, his family is short on things like food, toilet paper and gasoline.
Complications from surgery, including an infection, resulted in him having to have all of his upper
teeth removed. Prior to the benefit cut-off, he had a consultation for low-cost dentures. Now that is
out of the question.

I know Gov. Justice has a heart. Surely, there is a way to provide a hardship exemption for people
who have not been able to find work this summer because they lack child care, elder care,
transportation or have medical reasons.

Thank goodness Sen. Manchin voted for the American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021. All our other
federal representatives voted no. The ARP provides new options for people like Aimee and
Jonathon. Advance Child Care Tax Credits (CTC) are available for nearly all West Virginia families
— $250 per month for children 6-17, and $300 monthly for kids under 6. Rental, utility and internet
assistance are available from the Mountaineer Rental Assistance Program (M-RAP). For more
information, go to ChildTaxCredit.gov or apply.wvmrap.com.

West Virginia Legal Aid received a grant for four community navigators who provide help for those
who’ve lost their jobs due to COVID-19. You can talk to a real person for assistance with CTC or M-
RAP forms, drivers license reinstatement, expungement and to look into eligibility for other benefits.
Nick Helmick, based in Morgantown, is the navigator covering the Northern Panhandle, Eastern
Panhandle and counties in between. Contact him at nhelmick@lawv.net or 304-989-5596. If you live
elsewhere, call Legal Aid at 866-255-4370, for the navigator in your area.

I encourage everyone who may be eligible to seek out these programs while funding is still available.

Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer represents the 51st District in the West Virginia House of
Delegates.