Fractured Joy- Caregiving

At the beginning of the pandemic, nearly two million women had to drop out of the workforce, often due to the lack of childcare alternatives. The number of single mothers with jobs is now 22% lower than it was in April 2019. If you are a single mother with children under the age of 5–who until recently weren't eligible for vaccinations–the burden of working at home while caring for a child is a real threat to mental health and job viability.

Single mother Kathleen Jones is a 34-year-old woman living in the Washington, DC area who works full time while caring for her small son Gabriel. Before the world shut down, her (then) 3-year-old went to daycare a couple of times a week for 4 hours each day, allowing Kathleen a bit of time to focus on her 40+ hour a week job as a federal employee.

Since school closures began, Kathleen has had to drastically shift her life to include the roles of constant playmate, teacher, and nurse to her steadily expanding list as cook, housekeeper, potty trainer, and full-time laundress. While attending to a temperamental child's physical and emotional needs, tantrums, and whims, she tries to manage her own mental health with the rising anxiety as new COVID-19 variants continue to evolve and assault her.

Like most kids stuck at home, young Gabriel has become anxious and demanding after spending nearly a year without external stimulation. Kathleen has tried to make peace between him and the new normal, which has engendered an intensely co-dependent relationship that she–like the millions of other single mothers–must shoulder even as she reaches the breaking point.