Lincoln – A coalition of some 100 nonprofits have launched a new online portal to connect lawmakers with Nebraskans experiencing unprecedented economic hardship in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Laurie Ponce Lage, director of Coalition for a Strong Nebraska, said the goal is to help lawmakers realize the scope of the challenges facing families struggling to meet their basic needs.

“People are getting evicted in record numbers,” Ponce Lage observed. “People are in food lines in record numbers. Your neighbors, people around you that you probably don’t even know, are still struggling.”

Nebraskans who lost jobs through no fault of their own are posting their stories at essentialnebraska.com.

Ponce Lage noted some are single mothers who were able to keep their heads above water with initial federal CARES Act support, but after burning through their savings, now face the frightening prospect of sending kids to bed with empty stomachs and losing their homes. Despite the recent passage of a new COVID-19 relief package in Congress, Ponce Lage cautioned it is uncertain how that will be distributed. The Essential Nebraska project aims to collect data from every county, which she hopes will help lawmakers get it right.

“It’s not just in urban parts of the state,” Ponce Lage said. “Their needs may be different, but we need to show senators what’s happening in their own back yards, in their own districts, with their own neighbors.”

Ponce Lage said that she’s hopeful Nebraska lawmakers will strengthen existing emergency-assistance programs, with a focus on housing, food and utilities.

She added that policy solutions, such as childcare and paid family medical leave so sick workers can stay home to protect public health, should be considered.

This article was produced by the Nebraska News Connection, an news service that provides statewide stories to news outlets. It is part of the national Public News Service. Find more at publicnewsservice.org.