SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Alice McMenamin loves her home. It's a place she shares with her husband and animals.

McMenamin has been living with Multiple Sclerosis since the 1990s. While it may not have impacted her spirit, it has impacted her ability to take care of herself.

McMenamin was forced to seek help, but she feared losing the freedom she has at home.

"It was very difficult," she said

In-home healthcare is expensive and in short supply. Kaiser Health News reported that home healthcare agencies are turning away 40% of referrals because of a lack of workers.

The shortage is blamed on burnout, low wages and being recruited away by hospitals and other work with better pay and hours. The median wage for an in-home healthcare worker is approximately $10 an hour.

According to PHI, an industry research group, there are just over 2 million home healthcare workers, but the 65 and older population is expected to double by 2050, reaching nearly 90 million.

The increased demand and decreasing supply have led to some creative solutions in the private sector.

Trina Kaplow is one of the founders of Alice Care, a new app-based home care provider. Similar to a rideshare app, clients can schedule help with a task, like a bath, and licensed home care providers can choose to take the task.

"The difference is a traditional agency will require a four-hour minimum and often multiple times a week, which can be very expensive and excessive," said Kaplow.

"It's super flexible and I decide what I'm going to do in the moment," said Maria Vazquez, a CNA who works as a provider on the app.

In this great resignation mindset of an economy, where the employee has more power, Vazquez believes a flexible schedule in a traditionally unflexible career is a gamechanger.

"I have three children. I'm still taking classes. I'm applying to nursing school. Like my life is hectic. That's the reason I gravitated towards it," said Vazquez said.

Industries are changing, and healthcare is no different. As more creative solutions are being found to address worker shortages, people like McMenamin are grateful something is being done.

"Eventually one of my complications will get, get the better of me, but until then, it's not gonna win," she said.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Mike Jenne takes his job as a van driver seriously; so seriously that he even lets his riders pick the music.

"I'm getting used to country music. That's not really my favorite, but I'm getting used to it," he laughed.

Every day, he drives his van more than 100 miles, helping a particular group of folks get to and from their jobs. A group that Jenne himself is a part of.

"I was having trouble finding the job because when I was younger, I did a bunch of things that I wasn't supposed to be doing, and a lot of people wouldn't accept the things that were on my record," he said.

Jenne is one of 77 million people in the country that have an arrest or conviction on their record. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, the unemployment rate for this population is 27% and 60% for folks up until four years after their release.

"I've since, I fixed those problems, and now, they're not an issue, but companies don't really understand that," he said. "That sort of hurts your pride."

These numbers are significant, but so are the statistics of our current labor shortage.

The Chamber says there are more than 10 million open jobs right now, but only 5.8 million unemployed people. Thanks to a number of factors, including pandemic-spurred early retirement and parents staying home due to a lack of child care, we're short 4 million people to fill jobs.

"It's just better to meet people where they're at and feel that they don't have to compromise their personal needs for their work needs," said Daryn Forgeron, who is a staff member at Working Fields.

It's a unique staffing agency in Vermont that helps folks with criminal records, or people struggling with homelessness, addiction mental illness, get on the right path to finding a job, with both community resources and peer support.

Historically, it's been tough work, but over the last year, they've noticed more employers asking for help.

"We've seen it kind of on the large scale in terms of just employers are more ready to partner with us. I think in the last year alone, we signed 35 new clients, which is incredible," she said. "There's more willingness to understand what we're talking about. There's a more openness of mind in terms of, 'Oh yeah, of course, there are people who are ready to work. I need them right now.'"

Tapping into a once-shunned workforce is good for business. The Center for Economic and Policy Research says that refusing to hire people with criminal records shuts the country out of up to $87 billion in annual GDP.

Eighty-five percent of HR leaders say second-chance hires perform the same or better than other employees.

"They'll show up as better work workers. They will be loyal, they will be punctual, they will be the things that you want when they can also be individually fulfilled," Forgeron said.

Jenne not only drives people who got a job through Working Fields to their jobs, but he also got back on his feet because of them. To him, it's way more than being about a company's bottom line, having someone take a chance on you is about building back up.

"I told them my situation and where I'm coming from, and they encouraged me and actually helped me recover," he said.

"We see you as a human being and not just the story that's been told about you... and employers are more willing to see that and employers are more willing to support that, and when they do, that person can build the life that they want and that is enormous," said Forgeron.

Our past is a part of our story, but for the people who believe it shouldn't always dictate our future, they hope that this pattern of employers taking chances on more folks continues well past the current worker shortage.

"Don't just look at the bad things. Look at their accomplishment, you know, just look beyond the mistakes," said Jeanne.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Recruiting and retaining prison workers is a growing issue for the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 10% drop in prison staffing in the next 10 years.

One state is leading the way to help close the gap in the shortage of correction officers.

“We were in bad shape just like everyone else; it’s a national problem," said Bryan Stirling, the South Carolina Department of Corrections director. “The unique challenge corrections have is the environment they have to work in.”

There is a growing crisis in our correction facilities. The lack of correctional officers is hurting facilities all over the country, even on the federal level.

The Justice Department budgeted for nearly 21,000 full-time officers in 2020 but only had nearly 14,000 of those positions filled in 2021.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be about 33,000 officer openings on average each year for the next 10 years.

“If you don’t have the core function of safety, you can’t reach the basic needs these folks have without staff,” Stirling said. “So, we have to do things differently. So, what does that mean? More aggressive recruiting, more aggressive pay scale."

In South Carolina, the state is trying to fix staffing issues, because those who work here know this job is can be demanding. Each officer is responsible for the safety of the public, the inmates, and their fellow officers. Staffing shortages make this job that much harder. That is why South Carolina has taken several different approaches to try and fix this.

“It could be a tough job, but any job can be a tough job,” said Lt. Genice Cole, with retention at Broad River Institute in SCDC. “We have increased the training to feel more comfortable and feel more welcome. It was previously four weeks. With it being eight weeks, we give them the opportunity to be inside in the housing units with staff that are certified to give them a little more comfort.”

“I have been doing this for three months,” said Alex Hassam, a recruit for SCDC. “Honestly, training has been fantastic. Communication has been good. There’s a lot of people to walk you through things to help you gain confidence. You’re never truly alone and always having somebody who has your back that is very nearby.”

South Carolina recently increased pay for their officers. According to Stirling, an officer can make more than $50,000 in their first year. The BLS reported the pre-pandemic starting salary average was around $32,000 a year.

“We have more aggressive recruiting, and a more aggressive pay scale. We just had a historic pay raise here in South Carolina; other states are doing pay raises as well. Other departments that hire are union based, and you can be close to six figures starting off. We are up 150 officers this year just in six months due to the raises given through the legislature.”

South Carolina has also lowered the age minimum to be a correctional officer to 18, which Stirling said has helped fill vacancies.

“We’re going to pair them with experienced officers, with someone that’s older inside the prison. We’re not going to just put them in a dorm by themselves,” Stirling said.

This staffing shortage issue is expected to grow, but South Carolina hopes other states can learn from each other and implement the best tactic for their situation.

CONWAY, N.H. — Mother Nature is rarely kind to Mt. Washington. On a recent fall morning, the New Hampshire's tallest peak was bathed in blue skies as tourists from all over the world flocked here to catch one final glimpse of foliage.

This mountain is home to the highest recorded man-measured wind speed in the world and it is also home to the world’s first mountain-climbing train, The Cog Railway.

The operation is about as small-business as they come. Each diesel-powered engine is custom built in a warehouse at the base of Mt. Washington. Like many businesses across the country though, The Cog is being faced with a shortage of mechanics and engineers needed to keep this place going.

"New Hampshire has had a hard time with keeping skilled workers. They always tend to leave out of state," said Rob Arey, who works for the railway.

But the old Cog Railway first constructed in 1868 is about to offer new opportunities to a whole new generation of the workforce.

The idea is simple, connect students at nearby White Mountains Community College with job training opportunities working on those diesel engines which power The Cog Railway. Not only will the program help get graduating students into a job pipeline that desperately needs them, the concept is also being deployed in hopes of keeping students from leaving rural communities like this one once they graduate.

A term typically referred to as “rural flight.”

"This is the first step in us keeping our kids here in the local schools, learning here, falling in love with us as a place to work," Rob Arey added.

Marc Poulit is an instructor at nearby White Mountains Community College. He has about 30 students in his program, all of whom are now eligible to apply for the new internship program.

"We are really planting that seed and thinking about, 'I don’t need to move out of state to get a good-paying job,'" Poulit said.

Perhaps the biggest challenge when it comes to keeping students in rural communities after they graduate is pay. On average, new graduates can earn 15% more on their first job if they move to a big city. That is often a gamechanger for new graduates especially if they have student loans to pay off.

Back at the Cog, they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of new students. While this railway may be old the technology, what they’re using here is more complex than most Amtrak trains, providing a perfect opportunity for the next generation of engineers and mechanics to train on.

"The way this facility was built is for the future. It’s all technology they may not even get at the community college. It’s exciting they get to come in here and learn it first hand," said Rob Arey with The Cog.

Like the trains here themselves, the hope is the whole idea will keep students careers climbing in the communities they call home.

The struggle Cincinnati restauranteurs are having staffing their bars and restaurants was highlighted on a national stage Wednesday night. It happened during CNN's town hall with President Joe Biden, which lasted for over an hour.

"We employ hundreds of hardworking team members throughout the state of Ohio and across the country, and we're looking to hire more every day as we try to restart our restaurant business," said John Lanni, owner of Thunderdome Restaurant Group. "The entire industry, amongst other industries, continue to struggle to find employees. How do you and the Biden administration plan to incentivize those that haven't returned to work yet? Hiring is our top priority right now."

President Biden started his response by noting the federal government spent billions of dollars helping restaurants stay afloat.

"If you notice, we kept you open," he said.

The president went on to talk about the career shifts many people are making due to the pandemic.

"A lot of people who work as waiters and waitresses decided that they don't want to do that anymore, because there's other opportunities at higher wages," Biden said. "And so I think your business and the tourist business is really going to be in a bind for a little while."

Biden suggested business owners raise wages to attract workers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ohio's unemployment rate increased from 4.7% in April to 5% in May and again to 5.2% in June.

Despite that, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services tells WLWT Ohio is "solidly in economic recovery" and "on the right path."

ODJFS said there are good signs in the latest jobs report: the civilian labor force has increased and more people are job searching.

Billy Watson, the owner of Kitty's Sports Grill downtown is hoping his short-staffed woes end soon, especially with football season and fall events around the corner.

"September could be very good," he said. "But ... we need a lot more people to work."

Watson said his weekend business is inching towards normal but not so much during the week.

"Our lunch and happy hours have been much slower than they were. There's still a lot of people working from home," he said.

That makes staffing during business teams all the more critical.

"We've offered people like 'hey if you're here in five months, we'll give you $500 extra dollars,'" he said. "I don't know if it needs to get to the point where we pay somebody $20 an hour to cook and raise all our food, sandwiches by a dollar."

This pandemic has been like a fog, a cloud, over what we once considered to be normal. But as we move through it, people are re-discovering what life will be like when it clears.

“I mean we, here, don’t consider us America. We joke when we’re going to Costco, ‘Hey, we’re going to America today, do you need anything?’" said Farhad Ghatan, mayor of Friday Harbor, Washington.

Friday Harbor is an island town near Canada. Here, Ghatan’s responsibilities go beyond entertaining the guests at his bed and breakfast, the Friday Harbor Grand.

“It’s great to be able to make a comeback after a tough year, but it’s almost pretty tiring," he said. “We had one hospitalization. We have a population of 7,500, approximately 7,500 on this island.”

The mayor says strict measures, like an early mask mandate, kept COVID-19 cases from climbing and the town’s vaccination rate is more than 80 percent, as tourists flock by ferry here each day.

“I’ve had zero openings since the beginning of June, and I probably won’t have any until the beginning of September," Ghatan said of his B&B.

As the US-Canada border is expected to open later this summer, Ghatan has mixed fillings.

“I have mixed opinions on that. I know business will go down because people will now have options of going across the border,” he said.

Most visitors to Friday Harbor are Americans.

“The exchange rate doesn’t make it appealing to Canadians to come here," Ghatan said.

On this island, keeping up with traffic from the mainland is hard enough.

“It’s ridiculous. Right now, I’m turning five to six people a day," Ghatan said.

Washington State has allowed restaurants to go full capacity, but Debbie Rishel’s restaurant, Downriggers, still isn’t at 100 percent.

“Right now, actually, I could have more of my restaurant, but I don’t have enough people upfront to do it," she said.

Finding enough help isn’t just a problem for a remote island like this.

“Not all of them have the luxury of having a full staff right now, so they’re only open part-time or five days a week," explained San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Becki Day.

More than 90 percent of chambers of commerce nationwide say worker shortages are hurting their economies. Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Vermont are among the states struggling the most, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Experts say a shrinking number of working-aged people could mean this shortage will continue for years, even beyond a pandemic recovery.

“My crews are already tired, and it’s not even the summer," Rishel said.

Step into Irene Herring’s coffee shop, San Juan Coffee Roasting Company, you will feel the pace of a busy season, lost in many tourist towns last year.

"We kind of jump in with both feet," she said.

But for Herring, COVID and coffee do not define her path through the pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She says she’s doing fine now but will be selling her shop after 32 years, in order to enjoy this edge of America, which is her home.

As many work to charter a path beyond the limits of a pandemic, she says do not forget to go in the direction of what you value the most.

“A time like that that has lasted as long as it has, it's nice to have something that brings you some pleasure," Herring said.