Unemployment diary: I'm a 31-year-old youth care worker in Delaware who's been out of work since July

• The Unemployed States of America takes readers deep inside the decimated American workforce.
• William Oliver Coursey is a 31-year-old youth care worker based in Wilmington, Delaware.
• Before the pandemic, Coursey was pursuing a degree in mass communications at Wilmington University while working at the local YMCA to support his family of five.
• He's grateful to be spending more time with his kids and help them with online learning, but also worried about staying on top of bills and helping his wife grow her hair salon business. He's making just $100 a week in unemployment benefits.
• This is William Oliver Coursey's story, as told to freelance writer Taylor Goebel.

Before COVID-19, I could tell you exactly where I would be: I would have graduated from Wilmington University by now. I would have been off to a new job, whether it was moving up from my position at the YMCA or taking my talents elsewhere.

After this, I just don't know.

Once the first person in Delaware got COVID-19, everything just froze.

The more you started hearing about cases, the less people were dropping their kids off at the Y, the less people were working out.

At first I was getting emails saying, "We'll be shut down for a week." And then, "It's going to be two weeks." The next thing you know I'm getting an email saying I'm officially furloughed. I didn't even know what that word meant at the time.

Since then, my position was eliminated in July. I've been waiting to hear back.

This is my first time on unemployment. Financially, it's been a rollercoaster. We'd been doing pretty good, especially when we were getting the weekly $600 in unemployment benefits. But back in July, they shut that down. Now I'm getting about $100 a week, so I might have to go into the savings I put away from tax time.

I'm a man first. I'm a provider. So it's hard when you're supposed to be that and you lose your job. To wake up every day, leaving this precious time with my kids, and for an employer to say, "We really can't use you right now." You have to keep reminding yourself, "I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't get fired."

Having my wife and kids here, not treating me any different, not treating me like I lost my job, it's a great feeling. They're the only reasons why I stayed sane, because if it wasn't for them, I would've blamed myself.

My oldest, Duane, he's 11. He was kind of excited at first. I think later on reality hit him, that he still has responsibilities. But he grasped online school really well. My other son Prince, his school is doing hybrid learning this year, too, which is hard because he's autistic. He needs real interaction. Being there for him is a full-time job. So I'm going to be on Zoom for my class while at the same time trying to settle him down.

My wife and I, we've just been rolling with the punches, trying to count our blessings.

This is the first time I've ever spent every hour with my kids. I can get to re-know them. With unemployment, I've been able to watch my youngest son grow, whereas before I would have missed his first words, his first steps.

I'm going to finish school and try to keep some type of faith and hope for the future.

My wife has been starting her own hair salon, Nessie's Natural Nation. The only thing that looks bright right now is her business idea. She turned the back space of our house into a full-on hair salon. By the time she did that, COVID-19 happened. And it was like, alright, this could be her thing. She inspires me. She has me looking at life differently.

This is a very blurry time. There's really no plan. I'm definitely helping my wife grow her business — I told her I want to learn how to shampoo.