Groton woman faced reduced work hours and caught COVID-19
Almost half of those in a survey by Pew Research Center think it will take them three years or more to get back to where they were financially a year ago — including about one in 10 who don't think their finances will ever recover. The Day talked to three people about how the pandemic has impacted them and how much help the federal stimulus is providing.
Groton — Diana Rosario of Groton was an essential worker at Walmart in Waterford when the coronavirus pandemic hit southeastern Connecticut, serving on the front lines as the situation quickly shifted from normal to the new reality of the pandemic.
Stores across the country were limiting capacity to help stem the spread of the virus, so employees like Rosario had to stop customers at the door, and lines of people waiting to go in and get their shopping done formed outside.
During her lunch breaks, Rosario would call her 14-year-old daughter, a stellar student who loved school but found the remote work challenging, to help her with her schoolwork.
Then Rosario's hours started getting cut, which she said was a real struggle. But she tried to do her best to help her family. She said she was trying to help her sister, who also had fewer hours and was pregnant, and they both looked out for each other to put food on the table and help take care of each other's kids.
"It was a hard moment," she said.
With her hours going up and down, Rosario said she was smart enough to hold onto some money and manage by paying the bills that were important, while letting go of other ones.
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On a recent sunny afternoon at a Farmers to Families food box distribution in Groton City, she drove through as city employees, first responders and volunteers handed out boxes of food, and she picked up a box for her sister and one for herself. Rosario, who likes to help others, said she ended up giving her box to someone who needed it even more than her.
She said her biggest worry during the pandemic was getting sick, and in December those fears were realized when she contracted COVID-19.
Rosario said she was so sick that she couldn't even get out of bed and her sister helped her with getting groceries. She says she continues to feel the side effects today, including a lingering cough and not feeling as energetic as she once was.
She said she knows the pandemic will end sooner or later, but it's important for everyone to work together, wear masks, sanitize and wash hands and take care of one another.
"My experience with the pandemic was horrible but we need to work together in this," she said. "We need to care for each other like the humans we are."
Rosario said she and her sister are now both working full time again. She said she liked her job at Walmart, but was looking for a change and has now found new work, and her daughter is back to school four days a week.
With the stimulus money, she said she is back on her feet: "It was a good help, and I'm thankful for that."
She has been able to pay off her bills, she said. "I'm not worried about that anymore."
Her hope for the future? "I want everything to be back to normal," she said.
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