Blog Post

Working America has engaged with more than 2.6 million people about the coronavirus pandemic and how to get help if they need it. We focused on contacting groups of people who we identified in previous surveys were not adopting safe behaviors. Then our team worked to persuade them via email/SMS about the importance of following CDC protocols and how they could reach out to their representatives to advocate for policies such as paid sick leave that had a direct connection to the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, we offered guidance on how to navigate the health care and unemployment insurance systems.

Valerie, one of the 156,000 people we heard back from, told us she was staying at home but at “great personal sacrifice.” “I would rather be at work and helping my family financially,” she explained.

We also spoke to Randy, who is one of more than a half a million people across the United States experiencing homelessness during the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. “I am part of the working homeless in America,” he explained. “I don’t have the choice to stay home.”

What is clear in every conversation that this pandemic has come at a cost for us all, but we can all do our part. Marcia shared with us that she’s staying at home but knitting for the local hospital. In these trying times, it’s important to remember that we are all in this together.