At this point, it’s doubtful you need to be made aware of the incredible work and sacrifice of our frontline health professionals during this pandemic. This emergency has taken a toll on them, and corresponding first responders, in ways most of us can’t imagine.
And a huge number of them carry significant student debt.
One day this crisis will simmer down. These workers’ jobs will go back down to their normal stress levels and risk. And the current hold on their student-loan payments will end.
As some of them face post-traumatic stress disorder from this experience, or layoffs and pay cuts as hospitals and governments face budget crunches, they will be expected to start paying their hundreds of dollars per month on student loans. There simply won’t be enough government programs to help everyone. Whether these healthcare workers and first responders get any financial assistance is still very uncertain.
This is yet another example of why “scholarships” need to be available to people with student debt after college.
Government money is not endless. We need to step up as a society with funding in other ways. Right now, there is an unnecessary stranglehold on scholarship money, making it only available for students before or during college. Millions of dollars of scholarship money go unawarded every year while millions of people’s student debt causes them financial hardship. This needs to change.
While they aren’t the only ones who needs this, let’s think of our frontline health workers and first responders who keep us safe. Their jobs are challenging enough without the extra challenge of student debt.