As The Clock Runs Out On $300 Unemployment Benefits, A New Orleans Waitress Is Left In Limbo
Dora Whitfield poses for a portrait outside of her home in New Orleans, Friday, July 2, 2021. Whitfield volunteers her time educating workers on the benefits of unions and advocates for unemployment reform.
When Dora Whitfield bought her house in 2014, she and her husband were so giddy they invited a caravan of family members over to see the place.
It was a hard-earned present she was able to afford because of her job as a buffet waitress at Harrah’s Casino. When Whitfield purchased the three-bedroom home in New Orleans, she broke free from 30 years of living in public housing.
These days, she is praying she does not lose it altogether.
When the pandemic struck, she was laid off and has been getting by on unemployment benefits ever since. Now, the additional federal unemployment benefits that helped her will soon disappear. Louisiana is ending the $300 weekly payments on July 31, following the lead of states like Alabama and Mississippi who cut off the checks in June in hopes of driving up job applications for businesses desperate for workers.
But for Whitfield, returning to work and her pre-pandemic life is not so simple. She is not sure her old job will be restored. If she looks for work elsewhere, she risks not making as much money as she would have earned from her hourly wages and tips at Harrah’s.
“Oh Lord, what should I do?” Whitfield said. “Should I get up with these bad knees and walk around Walmart? Or should I wait on the casino to call?”
Read the full story from our partners at New Orleans Public Radio here.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Birmingham, Ala., WWNO in New Orleans and NPR.
What exactly is driving the conspiracy theories about Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs?
A growing list of lawsuits, shadowy figures, a splintered media environment and prejudice towards hip-hop make Diddy's downfall the "perfect storm."
FAA chief Mike Whitaker announces that he will step down in January
Mike Whitaker says he will step down as head of the Federal Aviation Administration on Jan. 20. It's not unusual for FAA administrators to resign at the change of administration, though some have stayed longer.
As Time’s ‘Person of the Year,’ Trump outlines his top priorities in lengthy interview
In a wide-ranging and long interview, President-elect Donald Trump tells TIME Magazine his priorities for the first days of his second time at the presidency.
Missing American Travis Timmerman found wandering barefoot outside Damascus
The 29-year-old had last been seen in Budapest, Hungary. He said he was detained earlier this year after crossing into Syria on foot from Lebanon and held in prison until the fall of the Assad regime.
Girls Rock Birmingham gives future artists the spotlight
Picture a rock band and chances are it’s a bunch of men. But Girls Rock Birmingham, a local youth organization, is fixing that spotlight on girls by giving them the chance to take the stage to rock out.
Biden commutes the sentences for 1,500 people, the largest act of clemency in a day
The 1,500 people had been serving long prison sentences that would have been shorter under today's laws and practices. They had been on home confinement since the COVID pandemic.
