r/UnemploymentWA • u/Animedingo • Aug 28 '21
Discussion The covid situation is only mildly better...So those of us unemployed are just F'd?
PUA runs out in a week, Covid hasn't been dealt with to the degree that we're free to go back to normal life, in fact there's a whole new strain that we're not even sure the vaccine prevents against. Some people are even getting a third shot that again, may or may not help.
Is there no hope for PUA getting extended? Or additional support of any kind?
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u/xithbaby Aug 29 '21
The only thing we can do is wait and see if Biden signs another "pandemic relief" bill for many of us. Honestly, I don't think they care as much as they did before. The people dying to it are people who are willingly refusing the vaccine. Before it was elderly and such dying to no fault of their own which caused a huge panic that our government wasn't doing crap. I don't think people care about anti-VAX people dying to a preventable disease nearly as much as they did before the vaccine was out.
I think we're fucked either way to be honest. Schools open in a week, it's going to be a shit show just like it's been all over the world. Who knows what's going to happen.
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Aug 29 '21
We're totally fucked. Even if by some miracle they do a pandemic relief bill I bet it would take a couple of months for any $ to happen.
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u/xithbaby Aug 29 '21
My PUA was cut off 4 weeks early. Been stuck in adjudication since the 9th, and because of a typo I cannot file PUA to wait, so I basically was screwed out of 4 payments. I contacted a rep and they replied yesterday but at this point I am just so sick of dealing with ESD that I don't even want to bother.
My kid is staying home for in home learning, and I am watching as our government officials have completely forgotten that kids under 12 still can't be vaccinated and they are pushing for our kids to go back and showing that it's going to mentally damage my child if I don't send her back. So now I am looked at like an abusive mother for wanting to protect her from catching a virus we know next to nothing about what it will do to our bodies. They are still gathering information about the spanish flu and have linked that to heart attacks in adults that caught it as children.
Fuck this shit, seriously. I'll go broke and hungry before I let my daughter suffer.
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Aug 29 '21
I feel you. I have a 3yo myself. Pre-pandemic I worked as a nanny and brought him along, but we moved and I'm having a tough time finding a nanny job in our new location. The ones I have applied for were for taking care of kids who were attending preschool and I'm not wanting to expose my kid to kids who are having that many interactions with other (unvaxxed, obv) kids.
My husband is immunocompromised, so while I'm terrified for my kid, I'm more terrified that my kid would bring home COVID to my husband (who is vaxxed but because he is on immunosuppresants he doesn't have as many antibodies as a normal person would.)
I can't do other kinds of work because I'd have to send my kid to child care, which I can't do because of the COVID risk - plus I can't afford child care on top of the fact that there just aren't available spots out here.
I've been applying for work from home jobs but I keep getting rejected and they all pay less than half of what I was making before. Plus I could only work opposite hours of my husband because of the child care issue.
I guess, as usual, kids and parents (moms especially) get the short end of the stick.
I'm sorry you're going thru it too.
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u/Robotichands Sep 03 '21
it is absolutely going to be a shit show and things are already worse than they were at the height of the last wave, but everyone wants to act like it’s a thing of the past or blame it solely on unvaccinated people which is NOT true. look at Israel, something like 80% of them are vaxxed and they are still recording +11k cases daily. this is truly going to be a dark dark winter.
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Aug 29 '21
They don't care. They want their low wage slaves back. I have saved a large portion because I knew this day was coming and will be ok for the next three months... I have had a huge issue with ID theft..affecting my credit, social security account, IRS, and criminal history...I don't foresee anyone hiring me with another persons criminal history around my neck
(we have same exact name born exactly two months apart, and lived in the same apartments ten years apart)
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u/HappinessSuitsYou Aug 29 '21
Have you been turned down for jobs due to this reason? Seems easy enough to explain or prove otherwise.
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Aug 29 '21
I have. I have now included a cover letter that explains I have had some ID theft confusion with a person by the same name and can supply proof of criminal history
The issue I am having is it shows as me on free searches, so that is ending the chance that they call me. It isn't until they do the paid version that they can see we are not the same person
this has been affecting me for years but I did not know until COVID and by then, reaching IRS, SSI, and the courts has been extremely difficult. As has been tracking every single free people search to try and have my info removed
I still cannot get ahold of the IRS, buyt SSI verified our records have been mingled for at least 5 years
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u/Scurvymcdiggle Aug 29 '21
Reading everyone's stories on here. I hope something good comes you you guys. My anxiety attacks are going haywire. Help your neighbors if you can. It's all we have.
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u/ThiefLupinIV Aug 30 '21
As someone who already deals with serious depression I'm having serious bouts of it right now. Even if I do find work, my only experience is in retail, so I'm right back to an unsafe environment. I'm vaccinated, but I have a roommate with a very compromised immune system so I'm concerned I'm going to carry something back with me working with the public again.
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u/Scurvymcdiggle Aug 30 '21
Same with the depression here. Luckily I got a med change that's helping me manage it a lot better than earlier in the pandemic. I hope you have a support system. It can really help. I'm high risk and vaccinated but I'm fucking terrified. I don't know what to do. I hope you find something safe to do. Retail sounds more of a nightmare than ever.
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u/ThiefLupinIV Aug 30 '21
I have an interview coming up at a place called Sportsman's Warehouse which seems like a more low-key place to work like the last place I worked (PetSmart) as opposed to some crazy place like Walmart or grocery store. So at least if it's retail it's a less crazy busy environment.
Unfortunately I don't have a full-on support system. Ironically up until I was unemployed and qualified for Apple health, I didn't have any health insurance because I couldn't afford it. So no meds or psychologist for me. It's pretty much my out-of-state brother and my roommate, who is a really good friend to me. Definitely better than having nothing but it doesn't stop me from having really low days now and then.
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u/TheBlueSully Aug 31 '21
I hear you on the apple health irony thing. I’m in the same boat. Now I’m hoping that covid doesn’t cancel some much needed, but elective, surgery in a month.
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u/ThiefLupinIV Aug 31 '21
Ironically being broke means my food and healthcare are covered by the state, but not my rent or anything else. Luckily I saved a little bit so I should be okay in the short term. If it takes too long to find something decent I'm in trouble. At this point full time would be preferred just so I have spending money for myself too, but honestly anything at around 25 hours or more would at least keep me covered if not particularly happy.
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u/TheBlueSully Aug 31 '21
Yeah staying home on generous unemployment was great in a lot of ways. But I much enjoy having the structure and expectations of working in my life.
And, you know, money.
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u/ThiefLupinIV Aug 31 '21
Honestly I'm a bit weird in that I generally like working as a cashier in retail and chatting and interacting with the customers, at least at smaller places where I can take my time a little. I've had quite a few regulars in my time that would seek me out just to chat when they were shopping and it's something I actually treasure quite a bit. My main thing is because of being so sedentary the last year my health has gotten a lot worse, so I need to get some things at least looked at before I lose my coverage.
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u/TheBlueSully Aug 31 '21
I understand. I work at a busy hotel front desk/gift shop. Left to my own devices I’d just stay at home reading and playing video games and only interact with people over text, barring my son. But everybody around me has commented I’m mentally and emotionally more healthy when it’s busy and I’m both forced to interact with guests all day and also hang out with coworkers around work.
It’s not my natural environment as an anti social nerd with mediocre social skills. But it’s a good environment for me.
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u/flusia Aug 31 '21
Not sure if they’re still doing applications, but I got 5 months rent (two previous and 3 upcoming)covered by T-RAP. So did a few of my friends. Seems like they got a bunch of funding to ease the end of pua. Good luck. I’m going through it too. Really scared. I have an account on Rover and have been getting a lottt of requests if you are able to dog walk/dog sit I recommend it. It’s pretty low contact with other humans. Anyone should free to message me if you have questions about anything I said (I don’t always see comment replies) or just wanna chat with another anxious person lol
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u/ThiefLupinIV Aug 30 '21
It's hilarious how all these politicians sit and pat themselves on the back acting like the job is done when millions of Americans are screwed. Assuming I'm not homeless by the next election, if any of these people in our state has even a moderately reasonable opponent I can vote for, I'm going to. I'm not rewarding a government that leaves me high and dry in the middle of an outbreak. Of course with our luck any Republicans that run here will probably be Trump brainwashed nut jobs so we'll be stuck with our lazy incumbents.
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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Aug 28 '21 edited Sep 05 '21
Correct, there are actually many
Pango subclasses
So far, no, none, not at this time. I will save you the legal explanation but it would have to be extended prior to its expiration.
This area is certainly not my forté since I've spent so much time and energy on unemployment and ESD but I did scrape together some different support in a series of posts 27 days ago
And of course the suggestion to review the very comprehensive and enormous wiki on r/personalfinance that I've included in this weekly message that's ran for 24 weeks:
But you're right, it is a massive change that is affecting a lot of people, which is why I tried to address it in the post that is still stickied to the top of the sub:
Edit: Added:Other very similar comment of mine from 10 days ago back when the case rate was 466 in Pierce county, it is now 606.
Washington State covid-19 dashboard
I also highly recommend that you follow u/secondsniglet
Recent Washington governor Facebook post with an enormous amount of comments in the same vein of what we are all feeling