Jessica Tiberio lost not one, but two jobs in the last few weeks. First, she was let go from a local animal shelter at the end of February, just before the COVID-19 crisis hit.
A few weeks later, she was furloughed from her position as an educator at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, which initially had to close due to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter-in-place orders on March 19. Adding insult to injury, her partner, a veteran, lost his job as a career-services recruiter.
They were among the 30% of Americans who didn’t make their April rent payments. Their Fresno apartment costs $1,100 per month, including utilities.
