Unemployed Michigan residents and small-business owners are scared for the future after they've been forced to stay home due to COVID-19 and have temporarily or permanently lost their jobs.
Rebecca Tamm, the owner of Michigan Massage and Wellness in Troy, told MLive she has already lost $10,000 in revenue since she was forced to shut her doors on March 16.
“I’m terrified," Tamm told MLive. "I am a single entrepreneur. I don’t have a second source of income."
Tamm said she applied for any help she could receive from local, state or federal levels. She finally heard back that she could receive unemployment, which will cover her household essentials, but she was rejected for a $10,000 grant from Oakland County.
Shaun Wade, the owner of a landscaping company in Muskegon, told MLive that while he was finally allowed to reopen under the latest changes to the stay-at-home order, customers are not signing contracts because they have their own financial hardships right now.
“It’s kind of a double whammy,” Wade told MLive.
Nate Lattimore, a Holland resident, was working for a small business restoring and maintaining antique wooden boats, but even though boating is allowed again in the state, he's still considered nonessential and cannot return to work.
“These orders are destroying our business," Wade told MLive. "People typically want their boats by Memorial Day. May is our busiest time of year, and we are unable to fulfill obligations we have to our customers."
MLive urged individuals to submit videos, explaining their predicaments. They reported that nearly everyone who provided a video said they had been struggling and had not received their unemployment benefits or any loans that were announced to be available to shuttered businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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