The following is part of an essay series from Memphis workers affected by COVID-19. The series is produced by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism in partnership with High Ground News.
AN ESSAY OF UNCERTAINTY AMID COVID-19
BY LORIN VINCENT
Hello, and welcome to the pandemic. My name is Lorin and I am a gig worker now facing income loss and uncertainty along with the rest of the world.
The thought of what could happen makes it hard for me to breathe, sending my mind to the worst-case scenario, leaving me either hyperventilating or crying. We have so many in our community who have trouble on a regular day. Now, things are dire.
I am a deejay who recently came off a yearlong break, and I clean houses. In the last week or so I have lost nearly $500 of my expected income — half from my first deejay gig after sabbatical, and half of that from cleaning. The $250 loss from cleaning is more than one-third of my weekly income.
Now, that income has gone to zero. Read More>>