14 | JULY 9 • 2020 of leaving wine and other small gifts on people’s porches to brighten a neigh- bor’s day. “ All these women have just bonded together to try and make this a little easier for everyone, ” she said. Lauren Cohen, a single mom to 19-month-old daughter Kinneret, decided to expand her quarantine bub- ble to include her parents after a strict two-week distancing period in mid- March. They’ve helped ease the stress of single parenting for Cohen, who lives in Lathrup Village. And Cohen has been glad to have these months with her daughter — time she wouldn’t have gotten otherwise as a single work- ing mom. “We’re really thankful for this time, ” she said. But for Vishniac, who moved with her boyfriend to a new house just as quarantine began in March, and Segal, whose brother came to live at her house during the stay-at-home peri- od, having other adults in the house doesn’t make much of a difference when it comes to parenting. “ A parent is really different than another person, ” Segal said. “No one else can kiss her booboo when she falls or gets hurt. ” UNIQUE CHALLENGES No matter what kind of support they’re receiving, local single parents say there are challenges at every turn of the pan- demic. Gray is a preschool teacher at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, but teaching swim lessons was another big part of her income. Those were put on hold as indoor pools closed across the state. Although she didn’t qualify for unemployment, she did start getting food stamps for the first time. “I was getting the free lunches from the school that I never thought I would do, ” she said. “It was very humbling. ” Keeping their children up to date with virtual schooling also became a major struggle for some parents when Michigan schools moved online in March. Kaganove’s son Nathan receives extra support at his middle school. It was a struggle to keep him motivated to do schoolwork at home, Kaganove said. “It’s just not going to work fighting with him, so I don't, ” he said. “I kind of let him do his thing. ” Kaganove said he hopes “with every fiber of my being that we get some- thing a little closer to normal in the fall” in terms of school. Vishniac, who ran around trying to get her daughter ready for online math class, said her daughter will repeat sec- ond grade next year — a decision made before the pandemic began. That made struggling to get her daughter to finish schoolwork even more frustrating, Vishniac said. “Give me a single parent pass, ” she said. “Tell me I’m allowed to disappear for the rest of the school year. ” NOW WHAT? Now that summer has arrived and Michigan’s stay-at-home order has been lifted, single parents are faced with more options and more uncertainty. Vishniac has started hiring babysit- ters again to help keep Luta busy while she works. Kaganove hopes to go camping with his son — staying out- doors is low-risk and he wants to find a way to get the two of them out of the house, he said. But what happens beyond the sum- mer is still hazy. Vishniac wants to hear from Luta’s school about what the fall will look like and what the future might hold. “I just want a plan, you know?” she said. “It’s difficult to imagine what I’m going to be doing in another several months. I know that I can’t keep this up … that’s for certain. ” In terms of finding support from the Jewish community, Segal said she hopes a group like SPARC can gain funding once again. “I’ d like [the community] to acknowledge that there are single par- ents out there and I’ d like them to have an organization again, ” she said. “I’ d like them to have a single Jewish par- ent, working on whatever they do for single Jewish parents. ” Steven Kaganove and his son Nathan continued from page 13 COURTESY OF STEVEN KAGANOVE Jews in the D cover story Lauren Cohen and Kinneret Erica Gray, Leah and Chloe COURTESY OF ERICA GRAY COURTESY OF LAUREN COHEN