Anne Arundel Gives $33K In Gift Cards To Unemployed, More To Come

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — As coronavirus swept through Anne Arundel County's hospitals, the pandemic also gnawed away at the local economy. Easing health regulations have helped the workforce begin its recovery, but many laborers are still without jobs. Some of those unemployed residents don't qualify for unemployment insurance, leaving them in a monetary pinch.

These people may benefit from stimulus sponsored by the county government and a local economic growth organization. The partnership is distributing a set of gift cards to workers who are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

The Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation gave a $500 Visa gift card to 66 county residents last week. Representatives handed out the cards out last Thursday in Annapolis and last Friday in Glen Burnie. The payout totaled $33,ooo and is the beginning of a new economic relief initiative.

County Executive Steuart Pittman announced the gift card program, called the Excluded Worker Humanitarian Fund, on July 9. The fund will give $500 to 4,000 people who lost their jobs but were not eligible for the state’s unemployment insurance. The aid package totals $2 million.

Residents can still apply for the money at this link or call (410) 424-3240 to request a paper form. The program will accept applicants through the end of the year or until funding run out. The application will also be available in Spanish.

“Every dollar we spend protecting these people from the harsh economic impacts of this pandemic is a dollar or more saved down the road in social services,” Pittman said when he introduced the plan.

To qualify, a person must have lost their job in 2020, made less than $25 per hour before their layoff and not currently receive unemployment benefits. Those who cannot receive unemployment include contractors, free-lancers, the self-employed and undocumented immigrants. Applicants will not have to prove their citizenship to apply for the funds, Pittman said.

The money for this initiative comes from federal legislation passed in March called the CARES Act. This gave states and counties extra funding to combat the fallout from coronavirus. The same legislation also gave small businesses loans to continue paying employees while they were closed.

Anne Arundel County had a 2.9 percent unemployment rate in March. That number peaked at 9.8 percent in April. Work started to return by June, when 7.8 percent of the labor force was without a job.

More than 75,000 Anne Arundel County residents have filed for unemployment, said Kirkland Murray, the president and CEO of the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation. Murray added that coronavirus cost the county 6,000 food and accommodations jobs and 2,000 retail positions.

“It’s getting desperate for tens of thousands of county residents, and the holes in our safety net are gaping,” Pittman said.

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