Sara’s Success – Surviving COVID’s Economic Fallout

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, FamilyAid Boston has experienced a surge of families needing help, many of whom never thought they could end up homeless. Sara and her two children, Angie, age 12 and Zoe, age 14 were one of those families. Sara is a single mother who works full-time at a social service nonprofit that helps connect school-aged children to community resources. Sara and her daughters live in a two-bedroom apartment close to Angie and Zoe’s school and a local community center.

Although there had been times when being a single mom was tough, Sara always felt like she was able to take care of her family no matter what, but then COVID hit. Her hours at work got reduced and she was no longer considered a full-time employee. For the first time, Sara was struggling to pay all her bills and ended up two months behind on rent. With Angie and Zoe home full-time, Sara tried to ensure they had enough food to eat for all three meals and had access to the internet to continue their school work.

One of Angie’s teachers learned that Angie and her family were having a difficult time and referred them to FamilyAid Boston’s pilot program with Boston Public Schools. After connecting with her FamilyAid Boston support team, Sara received one-time funding from the agency to pay her back rent. Her case manager also enrolled her in FamilyAid Boston’s weekly food deliveries so she wouldn’t have to continue choosing between paying her rent or having food on the table. Sara’s case manager also enrolled her in FamilyAid’s COVID financial assistance program, which electronically deposits $100 into families’ banks accounts biweekly to pay for basic necessities like utilities. Between the weekly food delivery and FamilyAid’s direct deposit program, Sara was able to catch up on her bills and start saving again.

Sara never thought she would be on the receiving end of a social service program after coordinating one at work for years, but COVID-19 completely changed things for her family. Without FamilyAid Boston’s support, Sara believes her family would have ended up homeless; she wasn’t sure she was even going to be able to feed her daughters for another week before coming to FamilyAid. But, with support from their FamilyAid social worker, Sara, Angie, and Zoe were able to remain in their home and get back on their feet.