The COVID-19 impact

Week.

"the pandemic"..

Has stressed families "financially" for the working poor.

It's led "to lost jobs" and "homes".

News 10's..

"heather good"..

Continues our coverage for you now..

Of how corona-virus is impacting the wabash valley.

She's "live" in our newsroom..

With the story "of a terre haute mother"..

Who was able to get back on her feet "with a little help".

"heather"... //////// susie... more than 30-thousand wabash valley families are considered working-poor.

They make enough money to keep them above the poverty line but not enough to pay all their bills.

The pandemic has forced more families into this category... and below it.

Nats: mother and child playing courtney wagle is a single mother of three.

Nats: mother and child playing back in march... she and her kids -- including 3-year-old imoni{last name grimes, pronounced ee-mon-e} -- found themselves in a hopeless and helpless situation.

"everybody struggles but i've never struggled this bad."

Courtney -- a bartender -- was out of work.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of her bar.

She thought it would be a short setback.

"then those two or three weeks passed and i kind of ran out of savings and then i freaked out.

I was like 'oh no' like, once the bank account hits zero, that kind of got a little bit scary there."

Out of work... and out of options... courtney and her kids lost their car and their home.

But -- help was out there.

Nats: outside united way office "we came together as a board and decided that people in our community were going to need help."

Abby desboro is the marketing and communications director for the united way of the wabash valley.

The united way's goal is to lift families out of their financial struggles and into stability.

It partnered with the wabash valley community foundation to establish an emergency covid-19 relief fund.

Close to a million dollars from that fund has benefitted a hundred local organizations just like reach services.

"they're doing direct case management, helping people that are homeless, getting roofs over people's heads, helping them find jobs."

And that's how courtney and her family got help... she called reach services... and the agency eliminated some of her burden -- placing her in a new home.

"they kind of slowly show you how to rebuild yourself financially again after being hit from something like that."

Courtney is back to work... but the fear she could be right back where she was earlier this year is very real.

"that's my biggest fear is dealing with what we just had to all over again."

/////// courtney told me she felt embarrassed and didn't want to ask for help.

She says -- if you're like her -- don't feel that way.

Ask for help!

I'll have more on ways you can support local organizations -- like the united way -- coming up at six.

Back to you susie... ////////