CLEVELAND — Alyssa Mittereder, 24, moved into her downtown Cleveland apartment about two weeks ago for a new job.

But shortly before she started, she was laid off.

“I moved here, was supposed to start Dec. 7 and moved in and then six days later they laid off 30% of the company, and I was one of the 30%,” Mittereder said.

What You Need To Know

  • Alyssa Mittereder, 24, was laid off three times

  • Alyssa was laid off before she started her job in Cleveland

  • She hopes authorities approve second stimulus check 

Mittereder works in the hospitality industry, and this is the third time she's been laid off since the pandemic began.

“I mean, each day I wake up, I check my Linkedin. I check if there's follow-up emails from other any places that I've applied, mainly being in Cleveland, I have connections from going to Kent State,” she said.

She has worked in restaurants and hotels since she was a teenager and majored in hospitality at Kent State.

“You're always gonna need a waitress, you're always gonna need a bartender, you're always gonna need a bar manager, you're always going to need that kind of stuff. Those positions ... have such high turnover ... who knew that this pandemic was coming.”

She was able to file for unemployment when she was laid off in the spring and moved home to Pittsburgh with her parents.

“I was very fortunate to not have rent, but I still had student loans. I still had a car payment, and I still had credit cards. I still had things (and) responsibilities that I did have to pay for.”

Mittereder said the stimulus check was helpful. She is hoping for another one.

She's not able to file for unemployment in Ohio because she was laid off before starting her job in Cleveland.

“There's still so many people that don't have jobs. There's so many people in my industry that don't have jobs, friends and family that I know that are struggling. And I think anything that we can feasibly do for the greater good for now would help,” Mittereder said.

As she continues her job search, Mittereder is still passionate about the hospitality industry, but she said what’s most important to her is stability and regaining her sense of purpose.

“I'm lucky that I have the support system I have. But I definitely want something to wake up to, and do. So that's absolutely the hardest part,” she said.