“I have seen a few new faces, but I haven’t been able to get to know them because of social distancing,” she says. “So I don’t know their story, but I have seen a few new families and a few more single people come in. And I can understand that, now, during this crisis with the stay-at-home order, where the abuse can grow, because now you’re forced to be there with your abuser and you have nowhere to go. You have to stay inside. And you can’t even go to work, where maybe work could have been safe for somebody. I know work was safe for me.”
Serra and her children have still been severely impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19. For safety reasons, this single mom is not allowed to have outside visitors, and while emergency childcare may be available, she doesn’t have any outside help with the kids. Among the millions of students whose classrooms have been closed, her two oldest children are not going to school, and she can no longer work. The family does not go outside, save an infrequent visit to the grocery store, laundromat, or drugstore, and Serra’s future plans to find an apartment, seek out work, and go to college have all been postponed indefinitely .
“It’s very frustrating—that my life is on hold and it’s a waiting game,” she says. “And it’s nerve-wracking, honestly. Very nerve-wracking.”
Serra receives cash assistance from the government, as well as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. “And, luckily, since I’m here in the shelter, I don’t really have financial responsibilities, like my own necessities and whatnot,” she continues. “And thank God, because, honestly, if I had my own apartment I would be very scared right now. So, luckily, I am here in the shelter, and they’re able to provide anything that I need as long as I reach out to my social worker. So I can consider myself a little better than most right now.”
Still, it is the uncertainty of this unprecedented moment that has Serra worried. In New York City, a person can stay in an emergency shelter for only six months. And while New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued an executive order relaxing the 180-day limit, it’s unclear how much longer those staying in shelters will be allowed to remain, or how they’ll be able to secure permanent housing once the crisis passes. As of April 29, 34,648 people reside in a shelter in New York City, according to the Department of Homeless Services, and many of them cannot transition to temporary or long-term housing as a result of the pandemic. Brokers have ceased in-person apartment viewings, mandatory inspections of homes have been postponed, and there have been reports of delayed paperwork for rental-assistance vouchers.
Six days after she spoke to this writer, Serra received a voucher. She has been looking for apartments since. “For a family of four, the budget is $1,580 for rental assistance. But there’s also a security deposit. How I am going to find a two-bedroom, possibly a three-bedroom, with a budget of a studio?” Serra says. “So, yeah, everything is really up in the air.”