A Message from HOPE CEO Bill Bynum in the Time of COVID-19

As we find ourselves sheltered in our individual corners of this sudden, surreal world of COVID-19, the phrase “we are all in this together,” seems paradoxically appropriate.   In the midst of the turmoil, HOPE is doing all we can to respond to the needs of vulnerable families and communities.

The pandemic is making worse an already tenuous situation for millions who live on the economy’s edge.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Deep South where families, already handicapped by the nation’s most deep-rooted poverty and racial disparities, will bear the brunt of the hardship.  The Economic Policy Institute projects that Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, will lose 896,000 jobs by the summer of 2020.  Preexisting disparities in education, health, access to financial services, and other gaps that disproportionately affect the elderly, disabled, rural residents, and people of color will intensify because of the outbreak.

According to Prosperity Now, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana have the highest liquid asset poverty rates in the nation, with 11 million residents lacking enough savings to make ends meet at the poverty level for three months if their income is interrupted.  As job losses mount, families already overwhelmed by high levels of medical, student, and predatory debt, will struggle with decreased income, making it even harder to cover basic expenses. The ripple effect on businesses and other critical providers of jobs and services, such as healthcare, education and childcare will be devastating. 

Already, HOPE has experienced a steady stream of payment deferral and loan restructuring requests from suddenly unemployed workers, homeowners and entrepreneurs.  From a pastor suddenly without steady offerings to pay his church construction loan, to service businesses such as restaurants, hair salons, and childcare centers, the toll is heaviest on employers of low-mobility workers.

A case can be made that HOPE exists for times like these.  From our Delta origins, to resuscitating communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the Great Recession, our accumulated experience and capabilities have forged HOPE for tackling seemingly insurmountable challenges.   As with past disasters, HOPE will be again be on the frontline of responding to the needs of vulnerable people and places.

Thank you for your extraordinary commitment to HOPE, and for your continued support as we help our neighbors survive and recover from this unprecedented crisis. Please click here to see how you can help.  We need each other now, more than ever.

We look forward to getting back to normal and creating opportunities like those reflected in this month’s edition of HOPE Matters.

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Bill Bynum

Chief Executive Officer