Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In the best of economic times, formerly incarcerated people face an uphill battle to find full-time employment as many confront administrative hurdles, social stigma, and emotional health issues from their time in prison. The COVID-19 pandemic has made these struggles even more acute.

Education is often a large barrier for people re-entering society after decades of incarceration. Less than 4 percent of formerly incarcerated people have a college degree, according to Wanda Bertram of the Prison Policy Institute. Further still, 25 percent do not possess a GED, often a minimum requirement on job applications.

Photo: Remotely Learning

Parents across the country have dealt with impossible situations during the pandemic: balancing careers with child care, managing intense distance-learning schedules, struggling to find nutritious food amid unemployment and, in many cases, trying to avoid eviction and keep a roof over their heads. 

Since March 2020, three families filmed the ups and downs of life at home with kids during the coronavirus pandemic. Their stories echo the reality faced by millions of women over the last year: Women have lost more than 4.6 million payroll jobs since the pandemic began, decreasing their participation in the workforce to levels not seen since the late 1980s. 

About 85 percent of students at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas, receive Pell Grants. Paul Quinn’s urban work college program has helped some students reduce the problem of loan debt from $40,000 to $15,000, with a goal of reaching $10,000.

On this episode of Here & Now, Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell reflects on the school's achievements during his 15-year tenure and the impact of COVID-19 on higher education.