“HOLYOKE — When schools and museums announced they were closing to stem the spread of the new coronavirus sweeping the globe, that alarmed Anne Thalheimer.

As an art educator, Thalheimer said she is ‘the very model of the modern gig economy,’ cobbling together part-time jobs to make ends meet. But some of those jobs have now dried up, leaving her without a large portion of her income. Thalheimer also works as a personal care assistant, or PCA, but that job is one that puts people the most at risk for contracting the virus, according to Department of Labor data compiled by The New York Times.

‘The PCA gig means I’ll still be able to pay rent, but nothing else,’ Thalheimer said Tuesday. ‘Which is horrifying.’”