Turning Negatives into Positives

Like many people, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic turned local business owner Lynn Harrell-Johnson’s life and livelihood upside down.

After working for the same company for 35 years, she was abruptly laid off due to staff reductions in the wake of the pandemic. She also owned commercial property that housed a hair salon, and that had to be closed in May 2020 to prevent the spread of the virus.

“I lost my job, I had to close my hair salon, I had to rethink things,” Johnson said.