About 39 million families across the U.S. — including 346,000 children in West Virginia — are receiving monthly child payments this week from the U.S. Department of Treasury as a part of the federal COVID-19 relief plan.
Families will get about $3,000 per child each month. The money comes from a temporary expansion of the child tax credit — part of President Biden’s COVID relief package enacted in March. The Child Tax Credit is one of the largest spending measures Congress has passed that goes directly to parents.
These payments could reduce child poverty by 43 percent in West Virginia, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy.
President Joe Biden and most Democrats in Washington are pushing to keep the child tax credit at these levels for four more years.
West Virginia’s congressional delegation is mixed on whether they would support this increased funding.
Republicans lawmakers Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, and U.S. Reps. Carol Miller and David McKinley, and Alex Mooney all say they are reluctant to extend the program. They offered similar statements, saying even though they support the increase to the child tax credit in general, they worry that larger spending packages that Democrats are proposing will hurt working families.
Mooney, Miller and McKinley also added that President Donald Trump’s Tax Cut and Jobs Act 2017 already increased the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child.
Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is the only lawmaker from West Virginia who voted for Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which included additional increases for families. Manchin tweeted on July 14 that he is reserving judgement on the Democrats’ budget proposals until he’s had a chance to review their plan.
Prior to the pandemic, West Virginia had a budget of $ 48 million in federal funding to support child care, according to a spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services. The state has received an additional $249 million in the past year from three COVID relief packages. Much of this funding has gone toward keeping child care centers open.
In 2006, Mercer Street in Princeton was not a place you wanted to take children. It’s the ‘old downtown’ or ‘Main Street’ of the city. West Virginians have seen the story over and over again. And visitors found boarded up storefronts and dilapidated buildings, remnants of a bustling and more prosperous time.
But in the last 15 years, 1,433 new businesses have opened in Mercer County, according to the Secretary of State’s website. The majority of those businesses were based in Princeton.
“It’s definitely been a fun process to enjoy,” said small business co-owner Holley Odle. ‘When I was in high school — I graduated from Princeton — this street was a very unsavory place to be. A lot of trouble, a lot of things that, you know, we’ve pushed out of here.”
Jessica Lilly
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Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop co-owner Holley Odle operates a chop saw to create pieces of wood ready for crafts.
Odle’s business is called Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop. The business model is based on hosting events and providing a space with supplies for people to create crafty projects with a little guidance.
“We thrive on people coming in here and doing projects with us to create an experience,” Odle said. “The fact that you got to get out of your house and be with your friends and your family and come in and actually put your hands on and get away from your phone or get away from your TV and have an experience was really something.”
Co-Owner Lisa Christian said she was inspired and motivated by how successful the workshop had become.
“One evening we would have close to 100 people in and out of here doing projects, and it was just fun,” Christian said. “The Golden Girls Workshops, we had about 40 people in here singing, eating cheesecake and singing (the show’s theme song) ‘Thank You For Being a Friend.’”
Christian refused to just let go of that community togetherness during lockdown. Instead of hosting people on location for guided crafting workshops using the supplies on site, she and Odle created kits with instructions and supplies to take home.
“And I think it kept some sanity in the community,” Christian said. “You know, it gave us things to do. It gave our customers things to do to occupy their time.”
She says the kits kept the business going during lockdown and also helped maintain a sense of belonging.
Jessica Lilly
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Lisa Christian, co-owner of Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop, adjusts her mask.
“It felt really good,” Christian said. “It felt like we were able to contribute to the community. You know, a community that we love so much and we love to give back. And you know, we’ve enjoyed watching Mercer Street come to life and see the different businesses flourish. So it was an experience.”
Jessica Lilly
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Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop co-owner Lisa Christian (left) assists Bernadette Dragich (right) with her project.
These owners said they’re willing to try just about anything to keep their business open. They also hosted instructional Zoom meetings, switched up the timing of the workshop,s and of course, began an intense cleaning regimen while wearing masks.
New guidelines don’t allow as many people in the workshop but that creates opportunities for immune-compromised community members like Bernadette Dragich. On this day, the empty studio is a valuable way for Dragich to engage in a little art therapy. Less people means it’s safer for her.
“I’ve had cancer and treatment for cancer,” Dragich said. “I’m on the upside of that. So it just keeps me busy and gives me a chance to have creativity and these ladies are really nice.”
Dragich is sitting at a table in the studio. Finished projects speckle the walls, framing two rows of large tables holding pencils, pens and other crafting utensils. She dabs black paint over a stencilled wooden round.
“I think it helps individuals and some of them do some really beautiful work,” Dragich said. “Sometimes things are more meaningful when it’s something homemade.”
Jessica Lilly
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Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop co-owner Lisa Christian (right) talks with Bernadette Dragich (left) about her project.
After finishing the paint, co-owner Lisa Christian walks across the workshop to help Dragich reveal an image of a dog on the wooden circle.
“Actually, this dog is from one of my co-workers who gave me this dog, when I just found out I had cancer,” Dragich said. “He used to show her and she’s been really meaningful and helpful to me.” Now, she has a handmade wall hanging that’s meaningful as well — a project marking a wellness milestone that allowed her creativity to flourish.
Just across the workshop and closer to the door sits a wooden cabinet. Inside is another silver lining to the COVID business model. Hammer and Stain co-owner Holley Odle says when it was nearly impossible to find cleaning supplies and they needed to meet more stringent standards, she turned to new technology that’s faster and better for the environment, ultraviolet sanitization.
“So after every workshop, we take everything that anybody’s touched, and we put them in the closet, and we cut the UV on and get it through a 10-minute cycle,” Odle said. “That way, so many harsh chemicals aren’t being used. It gets everything clean for the next person and we don’t miss anything.”
Jessica Lilly
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Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop co-owner Holley Odle shares their solution to stringent cleaning guidelines when supplies were hard to find, ultraviolet sanitation.
There are still some projects that just don’t fit into the “take home” model but Odle says they plan to adopt all of these changes, even after COVID.
“I believe that a lot of this is going to be our new normal for now,” Odle says. “As far as keeping workshop attendance low, making sure everything is extra clean, I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the way that it was.”
Odle says she’s thankful for what she’s learned through the pandemic, especially just how much the community appreciates the business and the DIY project opportunities. As things continue to evolve, she hopes the community won’t forget them.
“If there is a business that you love, and that you want to see it survive and be able to patronize that business after COVID, we really encourage you to go take time and visit that business now,” Odle said. “Whatever they’re doing, find their Facebook page, call and say ‘what are you guys doing?’ Give them a little bit of what you’ve got right now. So that they will be here when our new normal settles.”
Jessica Lilly
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Hammer and Stain DIY Workshop co-owner Lisa Christian (left) assists Bernadette Dragich (right) with her project.
For the past two years, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia team has been working on a folkways project that focuses on artisans and craftsmen within Appalachia.
For many of these people, their art or craft is their primary income, and a lot of them depend on social events, like concerts, farmers markets and craft fairs. In this new world of coronavirus and social distancing, that is proving difficult.
So we circled back with some of the artists, craftsmen and local business owners our team has interviewed over the past couple years and a few new voices as well, to see how they are doing.
Many are coping by continuing to make their art, and some are even finding inventive ways to continue making an income. A few examples include curbside pickup kombucha and a “pay what you can” roadside garden stand that includes aloe vera plants – a key ingredient in homemade hand sanitizer.
Credit Caitlin Tan / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Eddie Austin at his wood shop in Hamlin, W.Va in 2019. He hand makes furniture for his business EA Woodworks.
As the way we live our lives continues to change in the coming days and months, we plan to stay in touch with these artists, as well as others who are affected. Reach out to Insideappalachia@wvpublic.org if you would like to share your story.
Artists, craftsmen and local business owners featured include, Clara Lehmann, co-owner of the Hütte in Helvetia, WV; Kara Vaneck, herbalist and owner of Smoke Camp Crafts in Weston, WV; Ginger Danz, professional artist in Fayetteville, WV; Eddie Austin, furniture builder in Hamlin, WV; Brannon Ritterbush, owner of Wild Art & Wonderful Things in Fayetteville, WV; Kelsi Boyd, owner of Silver Market Co. in Point Pleasant, WV; Shane McManus, member and cofounder of Greensboro Art Cooperative in Greensboro, PA; and Robert Villamagna, professional artist in Wheeling, WV. Click the links to read and listen to the original stories on these artists.
Credit Caitlin Tan / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Shane McManus at the Art Cooperative in Greensboro, PA in 2019. The cooperative makes everything from pottery to refinished bicycles to music.
This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts, and culture.
On this West Virginia Morning, Greensboro is a small town in southern Pennsylvania, just across the West Virginia border. It sits on the banks of the Monongahela river, surrounded by small hills and patches of trees.
Over the years the town has weathered boom and busts of a pottery industry, river trade, and coal. Lately, it’s been more bust than boom.
But now, some artists are trying to stimulate the local economy using what they know best: creativity. Our folklife reporter Caitlin Tan visited the Greensboro Art Cooperative to find out more.
Also on today’s show, The Devil Makes Three has built a fervent following with their no holds barred live performances. “Graveyard,” included here from their Mountain Stage set earlier this month, is a fan favorite from the band’s 2002 self-titled debut album. It’s also our song of the week.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Caitlin Tan, Jessica Lilly, Kara Lofton, Liz McCormick, Dave Mistich, Brittany Patterson, Eric Douglas, Cory Knollinger and Roxy Todd.
Our news director is Jesse Wright, our producer is Glynis Board and our host is Teresa Wills.
