I was turned down for unemployment and I was bitching about it on a meme group on Facebook of all places, and someone suggested signing up for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Did it on Tuesday/Wednesday, just checked my bank account had $5,622 deposit from VA unemployment deposited.

I am still at least a month away from getting my unemployment appeal heard. This fund is the extra $600 you are supposed to be getting every week. It goes beyond the normal UI payments and is intended for gig workers, clergy, and other not normally covered workers. I was able to file all the way back to when I was semi furloughed. It also can cover loss of income so if you are working half time you may qualify for this when you would not normally qualify for the standard UI.

This puts me back to where my savings were pre-lockdown, and eventually sometime in July I should get the back pay from the UI. It's quite a relief for me. Looking to get back to more hours starting in June, so I'll have to figure out if I still qualify or not. Hopefully I will have a new job all together with a full 40+ hours. Either way a huge weight off my shoulders and I should escape this whole lockdown thing almost unscathed.

Just google PUA and your state.