Cincinnati-area small businesses: We need help, now

Many worry they may not make year's end items.[0].image.alt By: John MataresePosted at 5:00 AM, Aug 06, 2020 and last updated 12:47 PM, Aug 06, 2020 It looks like any normal day at Basic Trust Child Care of Campbell County, as children laugh and play in the yard outside the facility. But things are far from normal for this daycare center during the pandemic summer. Owners George and Bonny Kees wonder if their 40 years' worth of hard work and love will survive this year. "It's not just our center, there are centers everywhere like this," Bonny Kees said. "We've already seen some of them close, and there will be more. Things can't continue down this path." Recent Stories from wcpo.com Before COVID-19, the Keeses and their staff would watch up to 300 children each week, but the state of Kentucky now limits them to just 60. But they need even more staff now, to keep their kids safely apart. "We are paying for more labor hours now, so it's going to be hard to sustain," George Kees said. "Right now we are probably running about a $12,000 a month deficit." The government's Paycheck Protection Program and state grants have helped. But with that money depleted, small business owners don't know what the future will bring.