Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Rachel Schuyler walked out of jail and into a pandemic.

Now she can't find the help she needs to get back on her feet. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

2/ She's not alone.

As the economy continues to spiral downward during the coronavirus pandemic, many social services for people reentering society from prisons and jails have come to a halt. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

3/ Those reentry services — like help with housing and employment — have moved online or been halted since the new coronavirus hit the state. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

4/ Rachel Schuyler, luckily, does have a phone.

She needs it for virtual visits with her daughter.

Texas isn’t allowing in-person visits during the pandemic. She says she hasn't seen her baby since she was arrested. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

5/ She also has been using it to make phone calls.

Lots of phone calls.

Rachel Schuyler walked out of jail with a list of companies and organizations that could help her get housing, employment and health care. 

But people rarely answer. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

6/ So instead of finding a home, Rachel Schuyler wakes up every day in the loft her husband built off the side of the road and figures out what meals she’ll get them with her food stamps that day. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

7/ She then spends most of the morning on the side of the road with her hound dog, Kaido, hoping for help from passing cars.

That also has been made more difficult by the pandemic.

“People don’t want to roll down their window.” bit.ly/3dZGduQ

8/ One thing she is steadfast on is her refusal to go back to her old life, despite what she sees around her. bit.ly/3dZGduQ

9/9 “Most of the people that I know that got out the same time as me have already gone back to selling drugs,” she said. “It’s unfortunate, but you can’t find a job, you go back to what you know." bit.ly/3dZGduQ