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'It would help' | Local businesses say more federal money could help

Tennessee has more than $200 million left in COVID-19 relief funds and some of it could go to helping small businesses.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Patti Ford's barbershop saw the impacts of COVID-19 back in March when the pandemic began, and she said that persevering through it was hard.

"We are doing the best we can," she said back then. "All of a sudden we went from 12 to 25 haircuts a day to 6."

Months later she said things look a little different, but they still have not reached the same level of pre-pandemic business.

"It is getting better every day," she said. "It looks like we're getting better but we're down about 25 percent. So it really cuts back on our income."

Thankfully, she's had some help. She said she applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, which helped her pay rent for three months.

She is one of the millions of businesses that received help, but there are also plenty of people who did not get any assistance. However, officials said those people may soon get COVID-19 relief funds.

According to state officials, it has $272 million dollars left of COVID-19 relief. Governor Bill Lee has made it clear those funds will go to small business grants and that they will help local governments.

Knoxville Chamber of Commerce VP Mark Field said that receiving relief funds could make a big difference.

"We would encourage all businesses, small businesses to look for the availability of those funds," he said. "We can help people if they need it and they can find help on the state's website."

Though he said data shows an uptick in spending, it isn't out of the question for businesses to still feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the future.

"There's always that form of correction in an economic outcome," he said. "We just have to continue to follow the guidelines."

A correction is something Ford hopes will come soon, to help companies like hers recover and get back to regular business. 

"Keep trucking it, it has to get better hopefully and do what you have to to survive," Ford said. 

The State of Tennessee said it will continue to focus on targeted relief and provide regular updates including resources, information and support to help small businesses overcome any COVID-19 challenges. 





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