The federal government’s unemployment assistance program became a “lifeline” for Susan Hardy when the pandemic made it impossible to find work as an oil and gas title researcher, a job she held as a contractor. Hardy, seventy-one, has six grandchildren living with her and relied on the $724 a week she received in benefits to take care of them and support her son, who was denied unemployment benefits.

At least, she relied on the money until West Virginia governor Jim Justice (R) announced that beginning on June 19, the state would end its participation in federal unemployment programs enacted during the pandemic to encourage people to go back to work. As an independent contractor, Hardy was receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), a federal program created last March as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide unemployment insurance for workers like Hardy, who don’t normally qualify for jobless aid.

Now, Hardy is at a loss. “If I needed $10 worth of gas right now, I can’t get it,” she said, adding that she has also maxed out her credit cards. “I used all the savings that I had just to maintain the household.”