Christmas not so jolly for thousands of jobless waiting for aid

For the hundreds of thousands of unemployed Nevadans who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this Christmas will be remembered by many for the sacrifices made rather than for the joy from festive family gatherings and exchanges of gifts.

“Christmas is going to be really hard. It’s tearing me up just trying to talk about it,” said Henderson resident Dominique McNally, an unemployed father of six adults.

And with several unemployment benefit programs running out Saturday, unless a new stimulus package is signed into law, millions of Americans will see much-needed aid cut off.

Las Vegan Richard Tellier, 67, who filed for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program in May, said he is worried. He hasn’t seen any of that money yet, and he has been relying on his Social Security benefits and teacher’s pension while waiting for his claim to be approved. The benefit program is for jobless independent contractors and self-employed workers. It is set to expire Saturday.

“I’m sitting here with $7.24 in my bank account, and I need it to last to the end of the month,” said Tellier, an unemployed substitute teacher. Visiting family for Christmas is out of the question. And getting gifts for his two children is, too.

“I’ve talked to my daughter and my son, and I said when I get the money from PUA, we’ll celebrate Christmas then,” Tellier said. “By my estimate, it’s going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000 to $20,000 when it’s approved.”

Local nonprofits across Southern Nevada have seen demand surge this year and are bracing for even more if a new federal coronavirus relief package doesn’t come through.

“We absolutely planned for that need, and we will continue to plan accordingly,” Three Square Chief Operating Officer Larry Scott said, making a reference to the stalled stimulus package, which would extend unemployment benefits. “We realized that we cannot always expect that stimulus funds will be available, so we are preparing ourselves to source these foods that will have to make up for that loss of stimulus money.”

Through the week ending Dec. 19, a combined 1.58 million initial claims have been filed in 2020 for regular unemployment insurance and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, 1.56 million of which have been filed since the week ending March 14.

Three Square and its 150 agency partners that have walk-in pantries have seen a steady number of food-insecure clients across locations.

“We’re distributing at 16 drive-thru sites a week, and the demand level remains steady but very, very high. Each site averages between 300 and 350 cars a day,” said Scott. “And we just don’t see any lessening of demand for an extended period of time.”

The food insecurity rate among children in Nevada has jumped to a projected 32.3 percent in 2020, tied for No. 1 with Louisiana, according to an Oct. 30 report from Feeding America, an organization affiliated with Three Square. Just two years ago, Nevada was ranked No. 9 for child food insecurity at 19.5 percent.

“It’s a byproduct of our economy, and obviously it’s a byproduct of an industry concentration,” Scott said of rising food insecurity across Nevada. “When the economy suffers, we have to rise to the occasion. That’s exactly the expectation that we have at Three Square, and that duty is ours.”

The Salvation Army of Southern Nevada saw new families ask for help. The organization has been providing assistance with rental and utility programs offered by Clark County, along with food pantry, homeless shelter, and more.

“So many people have said to us, ‘It’s just hard for me to come and ask for help because I’ve always given, I’ve always donated, and now I need help.’ So we’re seeing that this year in higher numbers,” said Lisa Barnes, captain of the Salvation Army of Southern Nevada.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.