UWP Releases Survey Findings of COVID-19 Impact on Families
United Way of Pennsylvania (UWP) released survey findings that show how individual households have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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UWP conducted a COVID-19 Impact Survey in August to assess the financial and household burdens that the COVID-19 Pandemic has caused on our state’s families. The two-week survey received more than 1,700 responses from 61 counties, all income levels, and both urban and rural representation.
The survey shows that contracting the virus is the top concern for most Pennsylvanians, but a significant portion of respondents also have struggled to provide for their basic needs, maintain work, and access child care and remote learning.
Housing Expenses
When asked about the most concerning COVID-19 issue, the top concern for all respondents was the risk of a family member contracting COVID-19. The top concern for low- to middle-income households was paying for housing expenses. About 52% of households were concerned about eviction and foreclosure, and 77% of low- to middle-income households have enough savings to pay their bills for only a month or less.
Child Care
Child care and remote learning are also top of mind for Pennsylvania families. About 33% of respondents listed child care, education, and remote learning as a concern. The top concerns of households with children included helping children with remote learning, juggling work and children’s needs, and internet access. About 35% percent of respondents indicated that they reduced their hours at work or quit a job due to child care issues since March 1. Only half of the sample said that child care had no impact on their household members’ ability to work.
Food Access
Food access issues were another predominant concern of survey respondents:
21% of respondents received food from a food bank or pantry.
52% of respondents experienced being unable to find as much food as they needed to purchase for their household.
31% of respondents experienced being unable to afford the amount or kind of food needed for their household.
Resources
For more information about COVID-19 pandemic resources, visit UWP at www.uwp.org. The Early Learning Resource Center Region 5 and our quality partners at Trying Together also have curated a number of resources for families to utilize during the COVID-19 pandemic.