When Sandra Fowler lost her job as a hotel manager in March, she thought of the many homeless people sleeping on the streets of Tucson, Arizona, and feared she would soon be among them. I could mentally see myself on the street, says Fowler, 58. That type of anxiety is what kept me up at night . I was planning on being homeless because I didn t know how I was going to make it.
It took Fowler eight months to find a job in a shipping-and-packing store that replaced her previous $42,000 salary with a part-time position that pays $12 an hour. Her wages are barely enough to keep a roof over her head and not enough to steadily put food on the table.
I m literally breaking inside : As COVID-19 leaves millions jobless and struggling, the mental health toll rises Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
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When Sandra Fowler lost her job as a hotel manager in March, she thought of the many homeless people sleeping on the streets of Tucson, Arizona, and feared she would soon be among them. I could mentally see myself on the street, says Fowler, 58. That type of anxiety is what kept me up at night . I was planning on being homeless because I didn t know how I was going to make it.
It took Fowler eight months to find a job in a shipping-and-packing store that replaced her previous $42,000 salary with a part-time position that pays $12 an hour. Her wages are barely enough to keep a roof over her head and not enough to steadily put food on the table.
Every day I have to go to work and put on a smile for strangers when I’m literally breaking inside because my finances are just totally out of whack, Fowler says. Mentally it’s going to take me a while to get back to a place where I feel safe financially, where I know I’m going to be OK.’’
Mental toll of COVID-19
The physical toll of COVID-19 is stark, with more than 484,000 dead, and over 27 million infected in the U.S. But among the millions of Americans who lost jobs during the economic downturn sparked by the pandemic, or who have seen their hours and wages cut, the toll on mental health is also widespread.
Charles Henry Henke, 81, of Concordia, Mo., passed away on Feb. 3, 2021.
Charlie was born Oct. 10, 1939, to Maurice Dink Henke and Gertrude Neal Henke on Jefferson Street in Marshall, Mo. Charlie was raised in Malta Bend, Mo., where he played basketball and graduated from Malta Bend High School in 1957.
Charlie attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and graduated in 1961 from the School of Wildlife Biology. He had a legendary basketball career at Mizzou, earning All-Big Eight honors in 1960 and 1961 and All-American status in 1961. He was inducted into the Mystical Seven in 1960. He still holds the number 2 spot on the all-time season scoring average at 24.6 points per game, which was set in 1961.