It’s been a month since several pandemic-era federal programs and unemployment aid have expired nationwide. More than 7 million people across the United States are losing what’s been their livelihood during COVID-19, and Hamden is already seeing the effects.
The March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) established three new federal unemployment benefit programs, in the midst of millions left jobless or unable to work:
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
- Covers people not traditionally supported by jobless aid (typically self employed or gig workers)
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
- Extends aid to those who’ve exhausted their state’s benefits period
- Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)
- That extra $300 payment (once $600 at the height of the virus)
On Sept. 6, they ran out.
The Biden administration called on states to use their emergency pandemic funds to extend the programs for those still struggling, but Connecticut and other states have not made any plan to do so.
According to the state labor department, which administers the jobless aid, unemployment benefits from all federal programs were worth about $74 million per week to Connecticut households in early July.
The Local Area Unemployment Statistics program reported that Hamden is still experiencing a 5.4% unemployment rate as of August 2021. Connecticut’s state unemployment rate was 6.1%.
So now the White House aid has dried out, and Biden has said it was always “meant to be temporary.”
States, including Connecticut, are pushing long-term employment incentivization, but declining to offer any immediate relief in place of the CARES Act aid.
And yet, people still need these resources. So where do they turn?
In Hamden, the responsibility has fallen on its people: community volunteers that provide resources and donations to start to address the need.
Local programs and organizations first-hand know the unique needs of their community. It really is the local volunteers who are witnessing and interacting with the people who are struggling.
Jacqueline Callinan, Vice President of Quinnipiac’s Habitat for Humanity
“I do not agree with the state not offering to extend federal funds… it puts more burden on local organizations,” said Jacqueline Callinan, vice president of Quinnipiac’s Habitat for Humanity club and a frequent community volunteer. “But it is true that local programs and organizations first-hand know the unique needs of their community. It really is the local volunteers who are witnessing and interacting with the people who are struggling.”
COVID-19 has certainly increased the grave need, but it has also allowed community members to step up.
“We had a much greater demand for food, as well as a greater awareness and interest in the community of who we are,” said Rajan Doering, a Quinnipiac student and leader of the Gleanings Lovingly Offered to Wallingford (GLOW) Food Pantry. “At the same time, there was a much greater willingness to donate or help.”
“Everybody is starting to realize that everybody needs, everybody struggles and it’s so easy to fall down and need help up,” said Hamden resident Allison Batson. “I’m hoping that lesson continues, I know Hamden will pull together and I know we’ll continue providing the resources. But people have to get better at asking for them, asking for help.”
It’s not rare at all that people come through and say that prior to the pandemic they were the ones helping out rather than the ones seeking services.
Rajan Doering, leader of community GLOW Food Pantry
If you’ve ever driven past the Grace & St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Dixwell Avenue and seen cars lined up on a Friday night, you’ve seen Batson’s way of catering to those facing food insecurity and joblessness in Hamden.
Just after the economic crisis in 2011, Batson and other church go-ers started “Dinner for a Dollar.”
“Hamden, everybody looks good, everybody looks prosperous, everybody looks successful, but there are families that were struggling- and are struggling,” Batson said. “We had the space, so we gave it a shot.”
They just celebrated their 10 year anniversary. While the premise might be simple, donate a dollar, or don’t, and get fed a home-cooked meal, the benefit it provides regulars or first-time attendees, and the Hamden community at large, is much more complex.
It’s not just about people who need food. It’s so much more than that.
Mary Ellen Porcelli, long-time volunteer at Dinner for a Dollar
“It’s wonderful for people who are lonely, who need a community to be a part of, who want to give back and get in the kitchen with us, or who want to sit at a table and meet people from all different walks of life,” Porcelli said.
Batson explained that while they fed around 50 people at their 6 p.m. Friday night dinners pre-pandemic, more than 100 people has become the new normal. They’ve also added another location that serves dinner on Saturdays at the Hamden Plains United Methodist Church, and are looking to add yet another location by the end of September.
“I came with a lady years and years ago, back when they were just starting, who wanted to help cook,” Porcelli said. “She was going to bring a casserole, then we saw we were feeding 50 people!”
“Yeah, you need an awful lot of casseroles. We have a lot of people… a lot of people are hungry,” Batson said. “And now much, much more.”
She says the lines used to not be this long, even if the need was the same.
“We didn’t want people to feel embarrassed or ashamed, we just wanted them to come eat.”
Allison Batson, Founder of Dinner for a Dollar
“Our first night, 3 people showed up. A whopping 3 people. But we kept going because we knew it was a necessary thing for our community,” said Batson. “We didn’t want people to feel embarrassed or ashamed, we just wanted them to come eat! Each week it got to be more and more… and it’s just never stopped.”
Joshua Watkins, executive director of the Community Soup Kitchen in New Haven, says that people “love these ladies and the Dinner for a Dollar,” But how did they know it was so needed?
“The best thing we can do [is to] keep our ears to the ground… talk to our neighbors,” said Watkins.
Batson said that if everyone could know what resources are available, and what ‘community’ dinners like this are, that people might be more likely to take advantage of them.
“Mary Ellen is like a walking billboard, but that’s what we need. Word of mouth, people bringing people,” Batson said.
“I tell everyone around me, everyone I know. I make them feel welcome, I tell them ‘I’ll see you on Friday,” Porcelli said. “I even got someone I was sitting next to at the New Haven Symphony to come to Dinner for a Dollar! I’ll tell anyone and everyone.”
“It’s modeled like guests in your home. It’s a community of people, neighbors helping neighbors. No stigma. ” Batson said.
While waving goodbye to regular volunteers and guests, Porcelli said how each of the volunteers feels like “guests” in her own home.
“We just love them all,” said Porcelli. “The people, whether volunteers or people eating dinner, or sometimes both… they are what makes this so special and needed in Hamden.”
Watkins says there is “no doubt” that they will start to serve even more people as federal funds have expired, but urges people to not see asking for help as a “last resort”.
Come to us first so we can help you- not just when there’s absolutely nothing left.
Joshua Watkins, Executive Director of the Community Soup Kitchen in New Haven
“We want to get to them before they go through their whole savings and everything else, come to us first so we can help you- not just when there’s absolutely nothing left,” Watkins said.
Batson says everyone should come down to Dinner for a Dollar at least once because it’s “going to be a good time guaranteed!” She added that if you “have something to give”, they always appreciate donations to help with increased community demand.
But at Dinner for a Dollar the dollar is symbolic and volunteers say they think it “helps preserve dignity.” Dollar or not, anyone is getting served dinner from these dedicated Hamden residents.
“People look like they’re doing okay, and other people hang on to that and believe that,” Batson said. “But let me tell you, there are a lot of people who aren’t okay.”
