After COVID-19, Alaska families need help getting back on their feet

I have always been a natural caretaker. I have six kids and everyone in my neighborhood calls me “mom.” One of my favorite things to do is cook for my family and folks in need. Whenever I get some caribou, I’ll make my famous caribou soup: It’s warm and filling, and I always give some to my elderly neighbors who don’t often get a warm home-cooked meal. I work hard to provide a warm and welcoming home for everyone, but since the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s gotten harder and harder.

Before the pandemic, I had a babysitting business in my home. It’s a job I loved and it allowed me to take care of my own kids, which is especially important because my three youngest have special needs.

When COVID-19 hit, my main source of income dried up. The families whose kids I cared for were either working from home or lost their jobs, so no one needed a babysitter anymore. Instead, I had to rely on the little money I have gotten from the state and the stimulus checks to feed my kids. Now that the economy is reopening, I’m trying to build my business back, but some of the families I cared for have moved or switched to working from home permanently, so it feels like I’m trying to rebuild from scratch.

I am months behind on my rent — all the money I have is going to food and to clothes and other things the kids need. The state has a program for rent relief. I applied, but my landlord still hasn’t gotten the rent money and I’m afraid my kids and I could soon be out on the street.

A lot of other families I know are in a similar situation. I don’t consider myself a political person, but I want to make sure my representatives in Washington are fighting for me and my neighbors. I joined a group called WorkMoney that helps people make sense out of government programs and helps our lawmakers understand what their constituents are going through.

Now I’m urging Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, as well as Congressman Don Young, to support the American Families Plan and American Jobs Plan. I voted for Donald Trump in 2016, but sat out the 2020 election because I was so disgusted with politics. But I support these plans because they will bring money into hard-hit communities, make things a little easier for hard-working people and open up some new opportunities.

For me personally, it would mean a lot for the enhanced benefits for families with children to become permanent. It would take a whole load off a lot of us. Especially when our kids are growing — they always need new clothes and shoes, boots in the winter, the list is endless. My kids have gone through so much in the last year with COVID-19; I just want to be able to spoil them a little bit every now and then.

But that’s impossible right now. I get some support from the government, but it barely helps me cover my rent. When you add in my phone and electricity, it’s already more than what I’m bringing in each month right now. I get some food stamps and I’m so thankful that I have a family friend that helps us with groceries when we run out.

I was raised in a working-class family and my parents struggled too, but it seems like these days it’s even harder to raise a family. My mom always said it was important to try to make our own money to feed our family. I was doing that until the pandemic hit.

Now the economy is starting to open up more but some jobs still haven’t come back.

No Alaskan I know is afraid of hard work — we just need the opportunity to get back on the job. All my life, I’ve always looked out for my family and my neighbors. Just like I always share my caribou soup with anyone in need, our leaders in Washington should be ensuring that our economy will work for those in need. Providing a little support goes a long way in helping folks get back on their feet.

Now our elected officials in Congress have the chance to do the same thing for all Alaskans by passing the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. I am urging them to do it — and help us all get back to work.

Helen Roberts is an Anchorage resident and WorkMoney member.

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