Bend single parent upbeat in face of first unemployment challenge

"We don't really have a choice, other than to be positive.'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- As a hospitality worker, Serena Yanez thought her job was secure. But once the coronavirus started limiting travel, she was furloughed, and eventually laid off.

Yanez had been a hospitality worker for 12 years. Soon after she was laid off, she filed for unemployment, something she's never had to do before.

She received more bad news on Wednesday, when Gov. Brown decided to close all public schools in the state for the rest of the school year. Now, Yanez is not only dealing with unemployment but also trying to educate her daughter at home, which is something she said being a single parent has prepared her for.

"Being a single parent, and I know I speak for many single parents, this just comes natural for us," Yanez said Thursday. "Having to wear multiple hats and, you know, just juggling things. I just think it is one extra thing that is going to be hard."

Yanez has continued to wake her 9-year-old daughter up in the morning as if school was still still in session.

Listening to Yanez, you wouldn't think she just filed for unemployment or that she's even a single mother. She's taking every positive out of the situation that she can.

"We don't really have a choice, other than to be positive," Yanez said. "I really want my daughter to look back at this time and just remember that we went through some pretty hard times, and we got through it. Just like how our grandparents talk about the Depression and talk about what they did to get by. This is going to be our story." 

Yanez said she isn't sure when her next unemployment check will arrive. But one thing she is sure of is that her and her daughter will be throwing a party, once the stay at home order is lifted.