MARRYING her passion of cooking with her love for children, a San Fernando mother of two left a cushy job as a property manager to become a school’s “cafeteria lady” four years ago.

Things were going well. She had a plan to expand her business and make it into a franchise.

Then, in March 2020, all schools were closed as a response to covid19 and she became unemployed. Kathy (not her real name), an independent 46-year-old, told Sunday Newsday the thought of having to rely on her daughter and elderly mother has been mentally exhausting.

She lamented: “It’s beyond humbling to ask for help. It’s not natural for me. I’m the one who shows up to help. I’m the dependable one.

"I’m worried about my mom. This is not what she should be doing in her retirement. She spent her whole life taking care of me. I want to stop burdening her.”

“She is stressed about helping me pay bills. I’m her only child, it’s not fair and I feel like a failure to my daughter. It is like she looks down on me for my choices. I used all the resources I had on my business. I am ruined. She has a burden of a family that she doesn’t want. It’s not fair.”

Kathy, who has a master's degree in marketin,g said she applied to various fast food restaurants hoping to find a job – any job.

She did not expect to be out of a job for so long.

Last year, she recalled, “We were doing so good in terms of (covid19) numbers. I was sure that by September things would be back to normal.

"I applied for salary grant, rental assistance and food card. I was told that I had been approved for the salary grant and food card. None of the grants have come through to date.”

She is one of 7,000 people still awaiting financial assistance from the State. Because she is a sole trader she is eligible for social support assistance through the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.

She said she survived through God's grace, her mother, a few friends and her daughter.

Shinelle Quashie, the mother of seven, said she was able to survive on income support grants totalling $6,000 last year by buying in bulk and cutting back on expenses.

"The process last year was very easy for me. I applied in April for the grant and in June I received $3,000 on my debit card. I made a large amount of groceries – I bought in bulk."

She was pregnant at the time and got further help through the generosity of hospital staff. Her second payment in August was used to pay bills and again to stock up on groceries.

[caption id="attachment_892533" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Several businesses were ordered shut as the government restricted movement to prevent the further spread of the virus. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]

As a domestic worker, Quashie does not contribute to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), so she could not apply for a salary relief grant. She said she worked with a strict budget and anything she deemed unnecessary, she did not buy.

“I cut down on meat. I hardly ate that. The country was on lockdown, so buying fast food on a Friday and Saturday was out. I