These are some of the stories:

“I'm a self-employed personal trainer, I've been able to convert my business into an online program but I've still lost half clients because they can't afford to pay me, I'm not sure with the economic recession how fast I can replace those clients let alone grow my business.Being self-employed, I don't qualify for most of the aid out there and if I do, it's not even enough to cover my mortgage. I am still paying rent at a gym I don't have access to because your landlord isn't allowing us any deferment. I had $80,000 in debt before this crisis and was barely making a dent, I fear this might drown me now.”

“I am in retail and my business is cyclic seasonal. I’ve been successful for 16 years. I spend the yearsaving money to live off my savings in January/February because retail profits are very minimal thattime of year. The timing of this crisis has left me with almost no savings and zero income coming in.My anxiety is through the roof!”

“I am a sole proprietor, small business salon owner in Little Canada, Minnesota. Myself as well as my
staff are all independent contractors. I have no employees. Of the relief options available, I have yet to
find anything that will help me in my situation. I’ve reached out to programs asking how to apply. I get
no response. I applied for an SBA loan. Again, no response, not even an acknowledgement that they
have received my application. I’ve applied for grants and have received no response or financial help.
I’m lost and have nowhere to turn. With the CARES act having passed, I now qualify for
unemployment. I signed up the day after the Minnesota governor's mandate shut down. I’m currently
going on week 4 of no income and still don’t qualify according to the states outdated website system. I
have called the unemployment office every day multiple times per day and the phone has an
automated message stating “we are not taking calls until further notice.” I’ve tried reaching out to
local officials and the governor's office and have received no response. If my calls were answered in
the governor's office, I was transferred to the COVID19 symptom hotline, hung up on and/ or led
completely astray. ’m fearful my business will fail if I don’t get some relief.”​

Read more stories here: https://covid19sbs.org/assets/reports_stories/Testimonies-USA.pdf