Nade’s Story: Navigating coronavirus and financial freefall while pregnant
The small business owner contends with keeping her cleaning business afloat, taking care of her family while getting ready to give birth
TrustPlus is partnering with Humanity Forward and SaverLife to provide cash relief to Bronx residents financially impacted by the coronavirus. This is our first story in our series on the human impact of the coronavirus.
This Bronx business owner was expecting a new member of the family but never thought she’d be facing a pandemic.
Welcoming a new baby in the time of coronavirus is scary enough. But for pregnant mother Nade, who is expecting her third child next month, concern for her health and her baby’s is compounded by the sudden financial freefall that is threatening her family. Nade, who lives with her husband and her two children (3 and 24) in the Bronx, runs her own cleaning business with two employees. When the coronavirus crisis hit, Nade’s income disappeared overnight. No longer able to pay her employees, she soon found she couldn’t even cover her own expenses.
“With the crisis, the offices we usually clean are all closed. They owe me money, but no one is paying me….I am almost due, and I don’t have money to get the things I need for my baby.”
Nade’s husband, a taxi driver, is also unable to work during the crisis. Nade is terrified she will have to give birth alone since her OB/GYN told her that her husband would only be able to join her in the delivery room if he shows no signs of illness; the family is doing their best to stay healthy while living in the heart of the pandemic. With so much to worry about, Nade and her husband’s complete and unforeseen loss of income is an untenable burden.
However, in spite of the intense pressure they are under, the couple is striving to stay positive, for the sake of the family.
“We are really trying to create a good environment for all of us. When everyone is home, you wake up together, you go to sleep together, you’re always together. So we are trying to not make it stressful for everyone,” she said.
In addition to trying to care for her own family, Nade is concerned about her employees. She is trying to enroll in the paycheck protection plan in order to get them financial relief. “It wouldn’t even be for me, I would just use it to pay them. I really hope it works out… I have been so busy working on the application,” she said.
Nade is optimistic that once the crisis blows over, she will be able to return to cleaning and ensure a strong future for her family, including the new addition. “My hope is that my clients will pay their outstanding bills, and once this is over I can get more clients and contracts, and keep growing the business,” she said.
Until she can get back to work, Nade is stretching her dollars to provide for her family. Nade’s been working with her financial coach, Tiffany, to identify resources for her and her family that she now qualifies for, like expanded unemployment benefits through the CARES Act or WIC. They’ve also been identifying ways to free up her limited cash for necessities, like negotiating with her lenders to defer payments.
Andrew Yang and Humanity Forward partnered with TrustPlus and SaverLife to disburse a $1,000 payment to Nade and many other Bronx residents. The money was enough to pay rent for the month, with a little leftover for essentials.
“All of us who received the payment, it made a really positive impact on our lives. Whether you use it for rent, electricity, or groceries — it just takes the weight off our shoulders a little bit,” she said.
In the current crisis, the support is truly saving lives with crucial funds that keep families in stable homes and enable small business owners like Nade to provide for their children.
TrustPlus is expanding our financial coaching services and providing critical resources to protect workers and families impacted financially by COVID-19. Learn more about our relief efforts here.
