More Rockland businesses are turning to the federal government to help make ends meet until the pandemic ends.

Kevin Joyce, of Joyce Realty, is fighting to make sure his business of 26 years survives the coronavirus pandemic. He applied for the Paycheck Protection Program, a Small Business Administration loan that helps businesses keep its workforce employed during the crisis. It took about a week for the cash to come in after going through KeyBank.

"It made a difference to where my anxiety level was at about 100 and went down to about a five," he says.

He's now able to pay his 11 employees - even while business takes a hit.

News 12 has heard from many other business owners who are having issues either getting through or getting their loan approved.

"I would tell them you have to actually make it your job to go after it and just be tenacious about it…," Joyce said about businesses trying to get loans. "I would literally spend weeks on the phone calling them two to three times a day and have them notate my account."

On top of being relentless, Joyce is also relying on the Small Business Development Center at Rockland Community College to guide him through the troubling waters.

The SBCD says it has helped secure almost $7 million in assistance for 232 local businesses that desperately need it, and it wants other businesses in Rockland and Westchester to turn to them.

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