PPP Creates Positive Stories — and Lots of Frustration
Char Gentes calls the Paycheck Protection Program “a lifeline.” Her nearly 200 employees no doubt agree. Gentes is the president and CEO of Riverside Industries, a nonprofit that serves people with disabilities, helping them find ways to achieve daily independence, from securing and maintaining jobs to undertaking activities like voting and going to the store. In mid-March, the organization was shut down by the same mandate that has shuttered the doors on countless businesses and nonprofits across Massachusetts. Four weeks later, Riverside hadn’t laid anyone off — but that situation was unsustainable.