Though we are observing the beginnings of states beginning to open back up, there is still caution and a fear that we could find ourselves in a recurring COVID-19 season in the near future. And with economists estimating a full recovery still a while away, employees, clients and vendors should have an idea of what to do if the money runs out.
Did Homer ever want to turn back? Was the Unsinkable Molly Brown tempted by exhaustion at the oar of Lifeboat No. 6 as it navigated the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean after the sinking of the Titanic, awaiting rescue? Did Louis Zamperini have days of hopelessness, lost at sea for 47 days and a prisoner of war for two years? Did Frederick Douglass grow doubtful of his dream of freedom and equality?
Over two months in, we are well past the moment of over-confidence that the pandemic would be a thing that would pass like a bad blizzard. While some states are opening up, the fear of a recurrence or an even worse fall flu / Covid-19 season are hanging over our collective consciousness. Wall Street is jumping on some days and the sales of some luxury goods are finding upticks. But airlines are cautioning that it may be 2023 before air traffic returns to pre-pandemic norms and some economists believe that we are two years away from recovery.
We are past the point of corporate communications just being about camaraderie, stimulus plan analysis, and our guesses about what’s next. We also need to share with our employees, clients, and vendors what to do when the money runs out. For that reason, we devoted our Monday Mornings broadcast last week – a show called “Show Me The Money” – to a discussion with National Foundation for Credit Counseling's (NFCC) CEO Rebecca Steele and General Counsel Matthew Ribe and asked them how the NFCC can help people – millions of us – in financial distress. It’s a half-hour you won’t want to miss and will likely want to share with someone you know who could use the help. The NFCC can literally change lives with just a phone call. With hundreds of chapters nationwide, the help is always local.
Published May 20, 2020.
