COVID's impact on low income communities

As we approach a year spent in quarantine, it has been no secret that there have been long lasting effects created by the COVID pandemic. You would find it difficult to name anyone in your life not impacted by the lockdown, but the impacts are incredibly varied by race, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, showcasing the obvious divides still present in how the U.S. handled the COVID outbreak in low-income communities.

With children staying at home instead of physically going to school, parents already have the stress of delegating what limited resources are available in low-income communities to make sure their children have access to internet and a device to participate in education. On top of this, low-income families are struggling more with food insecurity than they were before the pandemic. Georgetown psychology professor Anna Johnson states, “…some families reported especially high levels of food insecurity – including 61% of Hispanic/Latinx families, 52% of American Indian/Alaskan Native families, 43% of Black families and 28% of white families.” Between parents having restricted income, challenges engaging with school, and food insecurity, children of low-income families are beginning showing the negative mental impacts the pandemic is causing to young children, especially those who are part of a minority family. Just as mental health for adults has taken a hit since COVID, children’s mental health has also declined. According to Johnson’s study, “Nearly half of responding parents in the study, which looked at the effect of COVID-19 disruptions and stressors on low-income families with young children, also said their kids have experienced emotional or behavioral problems since the pandemic began.”

There is another range of students being severely impacted: young, low-income college students. Not only have these students already faced difficulty in attending and affording college in the first place, but the pandemic has placed many of them out of their university, jobs, and living arrangements. The socioeconomic divides present in universities has not improved during COVID; in fact, according to recent data provided by the Brookings Institution, “…low-income students delay graduation because of the pandemic 55% more often than higher-income students.” Higher education remains an area in the nation that experiences extreme inequality in opportunities and services, and the pandemic has only increased this inequality.

While children and young adult college students are suffering from the adverse effects of COVID, the pandemic continues to highlight the racial inequality in the U.S. between different groups of adults. Data from the Pew’s American Trends Panel (ATP) states, “Those facing the highest rates of financial hardship include lower-income households and Black and Hispanic households,” and, “28% of Black and 26% of Hispanic adults had trouble paying rent or mortgage—rates more than double that of white adults at 11%” (National Low Income Housing Coalition). This extreme split has become more obvious as the time we spend in lockdown increases and low-income communities carry on - sometimes without receiving the aid they need from the government and due to limited resources available in their areas. For example, those living in rural parts of the U.S. have less access to renting electronic devices for school, picking up free meals at a designated location provided by their local programs, and the issue of high COVID risk from using public transportation.

These roadblocks are experienced by certain groups more than others. According to the Pew Research Center, “These types of experiences continue to be more common among adults with lower incomes, those without a college degree, and Black and Hispanic Americans” (Economic Fallout). With low-income students not graduating at a higher percent, more people are entering this vicious cycle. Without college degrees, and with jobs being scarce, those who do graduate are still at a heavy disadvantage. Inside of the home, income loss and pay cuts are still playing major roles in low-income families’ lives, especially within minority families where, “Among Hispanic Americans, 53% say they or someone else in their household have either been laid off or taken a pay cut because of the Coronavirus outbreak, larger than the shares of white (38%) and Black (43%) adults who say the same; 47% of Asian Americans say they or someone else in their household have been laid off or taken a pay cut because of the outbreak” (Economic Fallout).

Overall, the pandemic has cost millions of us our jobs and money, living spaces, and mental health, but if we take a step back for a moment to acknowledge the inequality of COVID’s impact on low-income, minority families, we can begin to think about how we are going to come out of this pandemic in a way that lifts everyone up.

*How to Help Families in Need During the Coronavirus Outbreak*

If this blog has inspired you, linked here is a website including organizations you can donate to that help support low-income families in this time of need.

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References

COVID-19 Has Harmful Effects on Children in Low-Income Families, Researchers Find. (2020, September 01). Retrieved from https://www.georgetown.edu/news/covid-19-has-harmful-effects-on-children-in-low-income-families-researchers-find/

New Survey Finds COVID-19 Economic Impact Most Severe for Low-Income Adults and People of Color. (2020, October 05). Retrieved from https://nlihc.org/resource/new-survey-finds-covid-19-economic-impact-most-severe-low-income-adults-and-people-color

Parker, K., Minkin, R., & Bennett, J. (2020, October 30). Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Continues To Hit Lower-Income Americans the Hardest. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest/

Smith, E., & Reeves, R. V. (2020, September 10). Class Notes: The gender poverty gap, COVID-19's impact on college students, and more. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/09/10/class-notes-the-gender-poverty-gap-covid-19s-impact-on-college-students-and-more/

Isaac KoneMarch 17, 2021Comment