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Across the country, millions of people are either out of work or working a lot less, especially in 

 that make up a huge share of the U.S. economy.  That includes 

At the same time, many people under orders to stay-at-home are

 doing more of their own cooking and cleaning

 and getting family members to cut their hair. 

 aiding those in need, some people are trying to offer

direct assistance to the people and small businesses that

 from restaurants they used to frequent, 

But these options don't guarantee workers or businesses will recoup all they've lost, nor do they always help those who need it most, according labor advocates and ethicists. 

"Those things are wonderful when we can do them," says 

, executive director of Jobs With Justice, which advocates for employment security. "But they are really just short-term solutions." 

So let's say you want to help the workers or small businesses you're unable to patronize now because you're stuck at home. Where do you start? With your hair stylist? Your nanny? What about all the Lyft or Uber drivers who have given you rides? 

Rather than trying to make everyone around you whole, focus on the people you have depended on the most, says 

 of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

"If you have been relying on somebody to come in and do a high-touch, personal level of service in your home, you want to maintain a good, long-term relationship with them," she says. "That's really the way to think about it, what is my relationship with this person? How regular is it? And how much are they relying on me?"

In other words, if you had someone caring for your children or cleaning your home and they are no longer coming, they may not have many other places to turn for help. Skeet, who teaches and consults on business ethics, says these types of workers are often independent contractors, and lack the kind of safety net a business might provide, such as paid sick days. 

Gig workers struggle to get financial help during pandemic

Gig workers can fall through the social safety net

Unemployment money not reaching millions of people who applied

And those domestic workers who are undocumented immigrants 

 which has raised nearly $4 million for domestic workers in need. 

But Smiley, the workers' rights advocate, says a more direct way to help is to "continue paying your domestic worker," even if they are not working.

"Consider it a paid leave," she says. "This is something we would get, many of us who are in full-time, formal positions where we have paid leave. Why wouldn't we also offer that to the people who provide us immediate services?" 

You want to help, but don't have the money

Sala Ivey owns a hair salon in Detroit and has no job security. Business before the coronavirus came with ups and downs, but there were always customers.

"Some days I had two or three clients, and some days I had 10, 12 clients a day," she says. 

Her salon is called Knot Just Locs — it specializes in dreadlocks — and like salons and barber shops across the country, the clientele is gone and the doors are shut. Her customers are loyal, Ivey says, but she realizes asking them for help might be difficult. "I imagine everybody's going through something," she says. 

So what can you do if you are like them, or simply don't have money to spare, but you still want to help? 

One option may be sources of cash that are freed up because you're spending more time at home. Some people are donating money they 

; it's even become a hashtag on social media: #donateyourcommute. Other 

 are giving away the money you're not spending going out for coffee or throwing parties, or even recovering coins lost behind the sofa.  

If you are unable to give, it's still possible to help. Mainly, Skeet says, by staying in touch.

"Just talking to people, at a very human level, and finding out how they're doing, finding out if they're safe, if they have the support they need," she says. "Anything you can do to reduce that kind of anxiety and provide more security for other people is a good thing to be doing at this point in time." 

Business and Economic News

Health

COVID-19

Jerome Socolovsky

Author

Social distancing has people doing more of their own cooking and cleaning and getting family to cut their hair. That's left domestic workers, waiters, hair stylists and many others out of work.

How to help the people who (used to) help you

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