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"Shelley Bowers lost her job as a bartender at the Alibi Tiki Lounge when Oregon’s pandemic lockdown started in March; she was okay for the first few months because the $1,200 federal stimulus check, regular unemployment benefits, and an extra $600 weekly from the CARES Act covered groceries and her share of rent, but when the $600 stopped in July she’s been scraping by on $397 a week in extended benefits (less than a quarter of her pre-pandemic income) and now feels scared as those extended benefits are set to end by the end of December." - Jade Yamazaki Stewart