A Glimpse of Stability

Families shared their experiences with pandemic-era support and what they need to thrive. Will a new Trump administration listen?

New America’s Better Life Lab discussed the results of their two-year study on what families say they need to thrive and the future of family economic security and well-being.

When the global COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, shuttering businesses, schools and throwing more than 20 million Americans out of work, economists worried that families, particularly those already living in poverty or trying to make ends meet on low wages, were headed for a financial apocalypse. Instead, Congress passed a series of relief packages totaling $5.2 trillion dollars—the largest investment in domestic programs outside of wartime and five times the response to the 2008 Great Recession—and made it easier for people to apply for benefits. As a result, families’ economic well-being actually improved.  

In deeply reported case studies, facilitated stories and journalism, families told the Better Life Lab team that they  were able to stay in their homes, had enough to eat and access to life-saving health care. Nationwide, child poverty, hunger, and eviction rates dropped to historic lows. “I finally felt human,” one study participant told us.

Now that that unprecedented federal aid is over, poverty, hunger, evictions, and the rate of those without health insurance are on the rise. Wages remain low. We’ll hear directly from families who participated in the study about their experiences and perspectives and  will explore questions such as: What are the lessons families want policymakers to  be drawing to build better supportive systems and an economy that works for all people? And will a new Trump administration, which has in the past sought to slash funding for anti-poverty programs and is threatening to do so again, heed them?

Speakers:

Chantel Valdez, Study Participant

Kiarica Schields, Study Participant

Kel, Study Participant

Ruaa Sabek, Study Participant

Megan Curran, PhD, Policy Director at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University

Jessica Weeden, Senior Design Lead, New Practice Lab, New America