This devastating domino effect of non-essential business closures is sending shock waves through our community. Non-essential? There is no such thing! These businesses that are deemed non-essential are essential to the survival of many families. Hundreds of breadwinners in our community are suddenly finding themselves without a source of income, and their plight is impacting thousands of others, as rent, tuition, and grocery bills are left unpaid.
The term “non-essential” is a misnomer. The concept doesn’t exist. Every business is essential to the survival of multiple families. When the printer is not printing dinner journals and wedding invitations, the shoemaker is no longer repairing shoes, and the dentist is no longer seeing clients, the ripple effect is felt by the entire community. Each “non-essential business” represents not only a family — a husband, wife, and children — but also all the supermarkets, clothing stores, pizza shops, schools, and businesses, with which this family interacts regularly.