Theres something utopian about the phrase intentional communities, and for good reason a number of high-profile examples of this kind of community have countercultural or ecologically-minded elements. (Or both.) As more and more people question assumed notions of where they should live and where theyd like to live, its not surprising that living alongside people with a similar ethos to yourself could be appealing.

A new article atBloomberg by Gisela Williams explores a more technologically advanced, architecturally distinctive side of intentional communities. Among them? Serenbe, located in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia a little over 30 miles from Atlanta. Reading about it, the appeal is easy to see: geothermal heating for the homes, distinctive restaurants and an appealing design sensibility.

Williams dubs Serenbe one of a few dozen relatively new utopian-lite communities in the country and also notes that not all of these communities are eager to adopt the intentional community label due to some of its connotations. Regardless, the other examples cited also sound intriguing:

That includes Powder Mountain in Utah, being developed by the invite-only entrepreneur network Summit Series LLC, and Salmon Creek Farm in Mendocino County, Calif., a 1970s commune being reimagined as a progressive arts colony by Los Angeles-based artist Fritz Haeg.

Not surprisingly, theres been an increased level of interest in communities like these since the coronavirus pandemic became more and more prevalent in everyday life. If, as some have speculated, one of the enduring effects of this period in history will be an uptick in people working remotely, the idea of a more idealistic way of life could have an even greater allure.

Williams uses the phrase eco-enclave to describe the particular corner of intentional communities described in the article. And theyre not solely limited to the United States, either. Its a fascinating look at a fascinating corner of architecture and urban design one which may grow more popular in the years to come.

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Is This the Future of Intentional Communities? - InsideHook

Twice last year, one of us -- Jill, a professor at Southern Methodist University -- walked into classes populated by students who were acutely aware of horror. They wrote in discussion posts in real and profoundly personal ways about feeling helpless, and hopeless, in the wake of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting and the New Zealand mosque attack. As they studied philosophical, comparative and social scientific approaches to religion, students wanted -- needed -- some way to make sense of their relationship to horrendous violence and its consequences.

One student wrote about realizing for the first time that people wanted to kill him because of his religious heritage. Another expressed profound frustration that such things happen despite education, governance or other factors that we commonly think of as mitigating.

Were in a similar place today. Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 virus have left students, faculty members, administrators and parents profoundly uprooted. With classes moved online, students and faculty displaced from campuses, looming economic fallout, and the threat of a very real contagion and its devastation, it is a deeply anxious time for all of us.

What can we do to acknowledge that anxiety without letting it take over? How can we create the conditions that will allow us to speak openly about what this experience means and go deeper in, rather than avoid it? How might we meet this moment in such a way that our students and our communities find the sources of strength we so vitally need in the days and months ahead?

We must first recognize that anxiety will be in the [Zoom/Canvas/Google Hangouts/Groups] room, whether we address it or not. Finding structured ways to acknowledge that anxiety and transform it into meaning and purpose allows it to exist without completely taking over, thus making space for connection to one another and to course content. In addition, reflection exercises -- brief journaling, check-ins and -outs, time to think on a guided question, opportunities to ask questions of each other -- lead to the kind of engagement that allows students to better understand themselves and their connection to other people and ideas. Taking a pause, in other words, can lead to the kind of productive curiosity that allows us to find strengths and even hope in the midst of disruption.

So, what does this look like? It cant happen by chance or accident. We need to be intentional and consistent in creating spaces for students to engage with the evolving world around them. Based on processes pioneered by Essential Partners -- where Jill is a faculty associate and the other of us, John, is co-executive director -- and developed in collaboration with a team of academics from several disciplines, dialogic classrooms structured for listening and deep engagement offer some models.

Taking a few minutes at the beginning of class to ask students to think about a time when theyve faced a major life challenge and found the strength to overcome it, where they found or learned that strength, and who helped them at that time is a start that may keep some of the demons of chaos at bay. Students can recall that this is not the first time that disruption has touched them.

Similarly, asking students to take a few minutes to name what the virus has taken away from them, and why they miss it, may help reduce a generalized anxiety and make it specific, even answerable. Students may miss being in a lab or on a sports team. But if its the people in those labs or on those teams that they come to realize they really miss, maybe they can find a way to connect. If its the routine, maybe they can recreate that as theyre in a new situation. Then, asking what opportunities the changes we are all living through provide, or what hopes or gifts people have as they navigate those changes, may allow students to recognize possibility and agency where they dont believe or have forgotten they have it.

After the Tree of Life and the New Zealand mosque shootings last year, Jill invited students to fill out 3x5 cards. On one side, they finished the sentence I can On the other side, I will She didnt collect the cards. In fact, some students report still having them and being grateful for the space to think about their own reactions to the events. The exercise didnt solve the problem of religious violence, but it did create a space where students could pivot from generalized anxiety and despair to something like localized, even internalized, purpose and hope.

Good questions, and the courage and care to create community, can do that. In this time of disruption, it is something educators can, and should, provide.

Here are some suggestions for check-ins:

Choose one question and invite students to reflect on it for a minute, then briefly report back.

Some ideas for longer discussions include:

Finally, we suggest some ways you might use 3x5 cards to stimulate student thinking.

COVID-19 has been disruptive to an extreme that many of us could not have imagined, and its a safe bet that the vast majority of professors and students are struggling to teach and learn in the ways we know best. Leaning into that disruption together, however, can make us even more connected and strengthen the communities that classrooms form and, down the road, the institutions of which they are a part.

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Questions to ask students in class to help them deal with the changing world around them (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed

(Photo courtesy of Brea Starmer)

From the she shed that serves as a home office sanctuary in her yard, Brea Starmer has learned a thing or two about working remotely over the years. But even as the founder of her own flexible-work marketing firm, who is used to wrangling remote teams, the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic has been different.

These are particularly challenging work-from-home times, said Starmer, founder of Bellevue, Wash.-based Lions+Tigers and our latest Geek of the Week. Even those of us who are good at this are finding new and creative ways to connect with both our clients and team.

Starmer hired a Manager of Consultant Delight who sends weekly gifts to the homes of the companys consultants. The gifts are curated from local suppliers, including a small a coffee shop and a chocolate store. An Amazon gift card included a list of family friendly board game recommendations.

Like many remote teams, Lions+Tigers has set up informal coffee dates and happy hours via Zoom, and theyre relying heavily on Slack and such channels as #virtualwork and #askmeanything to share best practices around tools, homeschooling, troubleshooting, or even funny memes.

Most importantly, weve been very intentional about checking in with each team member to see how they are really doing and if they need any schedule accommodation, Starmer said. Each family is so unique, weve found that outreach to be particularly important.

A Pacific Northwest native who grew up in the South Seattle area, Starmers parents were both self-taught entrepreneurs. Her father owned a popular bar in West Seattle and sold real estate and her mom was a marketing executive and consultant. Starmer was the first of her family to graduate from college and took full advantage of her time at Washington State University, where she was elected as the eighth female student body president in school history.

That taste of advocacy work led me to take a role in public sector marketing for Microsoft just after graduation, said Starmer, who spent almost five years at the tech giant before the entrepreneurial juices kicked in and she joined JefferyM Consulting as its first employee.I took on every role in the company. I got my hands dirty. It was amazing. I have such enormous respect and empathy for how integrated and complex every function of a company can be and how much humanity an employer needs to have.

In 2015, after a stop with a digital marketing agency, Starmer joined Porch, the Seattle home services platform, as employee 435.

And thats when my career planning stopped, she said. Ten months later, and seven months pregnant with my first kid, I was laid off along with 20 percent of the staff. I wasnt hirable. I was without a job or health benefits. The only work I could get was on contract. I billed 60 hours a week until my son was born just to save enough money for a short maternity leave.

Starmer found a way forward through consulting and the creation of Lions+Tigers.

The lifestyle unlocked a freedom and level of impact I never knew in previous in-house jobs, Starmer said. I knew I had to share this way of working with as many people as I could and especially wanted to help other working mothers. And with that, I set out to build the company of my dreams where impact is measured in the number of people we employ and the work they do, not the hours they clock.

Learn more about this weeks Geek of the Week, Brea Starmer:

What do you do, and why do you do it? In 2018, I founded Lions+Tigers because I couldnt find a company that fit my needs. As a mom who wanted to work something less than 40 hours, I had no options. Our work world is all or nothing. So I set out to create an agency building a bridge to the future of work, to empower professionals and enable clients through part-time consulting engagements to harness this movement and achieve more, more flexibly.

Do you know how much a working mama can get done in 20 hours?!

I am obsessive about helping people find their highest and best use. Its a real estate term for ensuring a piece of land is developed in the way that best suits it and the same applies to people. Once we lock in on the work that we are most suited to do, we can fiercely prioritize and downshift other work. We find that when people work this way, both our clients and our consultants can unlock 10-15 hours each week for passion projects (or, in my case, running after toddlers).

People talk about work-life balance and my life is like 30-minute blocks of running from one meeting to the next to a kids school thing and then to the grocery store. There is no balance, there is only peace with the season of life Im currently in. And as soon as we start having honest conversations about what we really need in this season, we can go about finding best-fit work, even if that means working less. We shouldnt apologize for those needs. In fact, I believe that brands should consider access to our team, even part-time, as a strategic advantage.

Whats the single most important thing people should know about your field? The world has shifted recently, but the movement was already underway. It is predicted that by 2027, more than half of American professionals will be freelancers. At the same time, brands need to do more with less, iterate quickly, and have access to talent to solve unique needs. Its not always possible to hire full time employees and thats when a specialist can step in for a sprint project. We make those connections possible and it lets everyone get what they need.

Theres a misperception that freelancers are lower skilled than in-house employees and thats far from true. Our consultants have 10 years of experience on average and have held positions like Marketing Director, General Manager, Operations Director, Analytics Lead, etc. We have a member of our team on what she calls a corporate detox because she was one woman on a team of 85 product managers and she just couldnt keep going. Now, shes working 20 hours per week on a very high-impact project bringing a SaaS product to market and she is able to make her kids soccer practice without guilt or apology.

Where do you find your inspiration? For my 16th birthday, my dad bought me a 6-pack of Tony Robbins CDs, so I suppose I started there. In college, I loved to learn about how PNW leaders built their careers and their companies so Id watch documentaries or read biographies on folks like Bill Gates or Howard Schultz. As Ive gotten older, however, I realize now that my early inspiration truly did come from my parents, as it does for most.

I actually remember as a young girl going to my moms office with her and Id sleep under her desk as she worked late. I didnt mind, I loved watching her in her element while I colored and would sneak into the presidents corner office to spin in his chair, dreaming.

And now, I draw so much energy from the folks who choose to work with Lions+Tigers. Im just in awe of their work, their energy and what they bring to our community. It makes everything so fulfilling.

Whats the one piece of technology you couldnt live without, and why? Well, in the last two months, certainly, its been Zoom and Teams! Since starting my consulting career, Ive worked from home a lot and our company is mostly virtual so this new way of work is old hat for us. But building connections exclusively through video conference software is a new challenge and Ive become super reliant on this technology to continue growing our firm. (Also Snap Camera plug-in is key for the best filters).

Whats your workspace like, and why does it work for you? When we arent sheltering at home, I split my time as a nomad traveling between coffee shops, our clients offices, our co-working space at The Riveter, and my She Shed (above).

When I realized my second kid was going to steal my home office for his nursery, we decided to build a she shed in my front yard. Its been a lifesaver with kiddos at home. I use my windows as whiteboards, I have a good webcam, and I keep the best snacks out there. Kids will sometimes come out and sneak into my conference calls and I love it.

Your best tip or trick for managing everyday work and life. (Help us out, we need it.) Oh, this one is easy, just lower your expectations! Kidding (sorta). There are three things that I consider crucial to my productivity: 1. A strong partnership with my husband, Andrew, where we divide responsibilities through a weekly check-in meeting, 2. Religious use of a to-do app or program to keep everything documented (I like Todoist), and 3. I outsource everything I can responsibly afford.

Mac, Windows or Linux? Windows forever.

Kirk, Picard, or Janeway? I once tweeted on behalf of a client saying that Klingon was from Star Wars, so this may not be my jam.

Transporter, Time Machine or Cloak of Invisibility? Time machine. The value of ACTUALLY knowing the future would be remarkable.

If someone gave me $1 million to launch a startup, I would Hire a group of high-impact working mamas as a think tank. The kind of problem-solving and creativity skills we need to employ on a daily basis could solve many, many problems.

I once waited in line for A chance to be on The Apprentice. Remember that show?

Your role models: Melinda Gates because of her advocacy for mothers and women around the world. Oprah for opening the world to conversations none of us were able to have before she showed us the way. Bree Brown for leading with research and heart and causing an era of self-reflection and empathy that was sorely needed. Locally, Amy Nelson, founder of The Riveter, for showing me how to be an authentic female founder. And Sarah Peck, founder of Startup Pregnant, for bringing motherhood to the workplace and empowering us to demand better.

Greatest game in history Fastpitch. Its a family sport for us my dad, my brother and I all played.

Best gadget ever: A blender to make Pia Coladas.

First computer: Mac. I played Oregon Trail in my bedroom growing up.

Current phone: Android Galaxy S10.

Favorite app: Podcast Addict (which I am) or Voxer (for sending voice-memos to my staff and girlfriends).

Favorite cause: Ive been involved in Outdoor School for elementary kids since I was 16. I now support the program by training high schoolers to be camp counselors. I believe outdoor camp programs change lives and build life-long skills for students at a critical age, so I support http://www.ospreycamp.org/.

Most important technology of 2020: The startups and healthcare workers focused on finding a vaccine for Covid-19.

Most important technology of 2022: Call me an idealist, but I think our post-Covid world will be more human, more empathetic. One major trend for brands right now is how they are connecting with customers digitally through virtual experiences, events, and communities. In 2022, technology focused on deepening these relationships will be critical.

Final words of advice for your fellow geeks: Seek out ways to build a courage practice into your life. Find others who live the way you want to live and seek them out. The pursuit of fearlessness is a life-long practice but one that can lead to a much more fulfilling existence. Lifes short, theres no time to be in a job/relationship/setting that doesnt make you your best.

Website: Lions+Tigers

Twitter: @LionsTigersco

LinkedIn: Brea Starmer

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Geek of the Week: Brea Starmer found freedom and her own company in flexible, remote work - GeekWire

Nature doesnt discriminate. There is nothing intrinsically racist or classist about a flood, a drought or a pandemic.

But if those natural disasters make landfall on an unequal society, their destruction will be distributed unequally. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this clear.

As professor and writer Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor laid out in a brilliant article last week, ... the pace at which African-Americans are dying has transformed this public-health crisis into an object lesson in racial and class inequality Black people are poorer, more likely to be underemployed, condemned to substandard housing and given inferior health care because of their race.

This inequality, in turn, leads to vulnerability. Black and brown Americans are dying to COVID-19 at a rapid pace not because the virus is racist, but as a result of centuries of discrimination. This discrimination is intentional, enforced at every level of government and designed to economically and socially disenfranchise. For decades, federal bureaucrats, urban planners and real estate capitalists have forced poor black and brown Americans into segregated neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are often industrially polluted, riddled with food deserts and lacking healthcare infrastructure, leading to long-lasting health issues. The war on drugs has ravaged black communities and resulted in the imprisonment of a wildly disproportionate number of young black men, who are now among the most susceptible to the spread of the virus.

Years of austerity have left indigenous populations particularly vulnerable. A lack of basic infrastructure and dramatically underfunded health systems have resulted in severe outbreaks on reservations like the Navajo Nation.

Across the board, poor communities are much more vulnerable to COVID-19 than wealthy ones.

This section of the article could fill several books, but by now you probably get the jist.

As Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor also notes in her article, the response to COVID-19 has been no better. Fewer tests have been administered in poor black neighborhoods than wealthier white neighborhoods. Meanwhile, hospitals in these same neighborhoods have cut services, while jails and prisons have refused to release portions of their predominantly black populations.

American history is pockmarked with examples of racist disaster response, from Hurricanes Katrina and Maria to the Flint water crisis. COVID-19 is just the latest chapter in this American tradition of institutionalized violence against black, brown and indigenous communities.

It wont be the last.

The pandemic is a horrifying tragedy, but it pales in comparison to the coming climate apocalypse. Climate change will prey on the same race and wealth inequalities as COVID-19, but on an unprecedented scale. It will ravage poor countries in the global south and devastate vulnerable communities within the global north.

The significance of learning from this pandemic cant be understated: We are seeing, with our own eyes, exactly how the climate apartheid will play out. We are also gaining further clarity about what must be done to fight it.

First, explicitly anti-racist social protections are inseparable from any calls for climate justice, as are reparations for the scars left by centuries of American racism and colonialism. We must secure housing, healthcare, food, water, education, workplace protections and the freedom to move (within cities and between countries) as inalienable rights for all people. Without equal provision of these services, the effects of climate change will be decidedly unequal.

Second, the climate justice program must be radical, focused intently on recognizing capitalism as the source of inequality. Until we move past the commodification of social goods like housing and healthcare, market-enforced and state-sanctioned shortages will continue to deprive billions of the chance to lead a safe and happy life. Democratic control of the economy is a necessary precondition to decommodifying these basic social goods. Its also important to note that capitalisms insistence on perpetual growth and the predictable consequences for our natural environment has led us to this point. In order to beat climate change, we have to escape its destructive logic.

Third, the climate justice program must be international and anti-imperialist, committed to not only creating an egalitarian and just America, but a just world. The same nationalist and colonial tendencies that have been unmasked during this pandemic which anecdotally include Trump offering to pay a German company to produce vaccines for Americans only, the parking of an infected U.S. Naval ship in the heavily militarized territory of Guam and leading French doctors suggesting a vaccine should be tested in Africa will continue as the climate crisis worsens. Climate justice must be a call for global solidarity, not insular nationalism.

These lessons, of course, have been apparent for years to many activists and frontline communities. But COVID-19 is the starkest demonstration yet of what climate change will look like if we dont change course.

Its a warning that we cant ignore.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual writers in the opinion section do not reflect the views and opinions of The Daily Campus or other staff members. Only articles labeled Editorial are the official opinions of The Daily Campus.

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COVID-19 is showing us what climate apartheid will look like - UConn Daily Campus

LOS ANGELES, April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Young adults of color are worried about the adverse effects thenation's response to COVID-19 will have on their quality of life, access to healthcare and their mental well-being, according to a national survey by talent development accelerator LeadersUp.

For its "Flatten the Curve, Bridge the Divide Insights Series," the first release, "Amplifying the Voices of the Next Generation of At-Risk Talent," is based on a national survey of 551 young adults to find out how they are faring during the unprecedented crisis. Labor market statistics suggest Generation Z (64% of respondents) and young Millennials (24% of respondents) are more likely to be low-wage, hourly workers and disproportionately impacted by layoffs due to COVID-19. The survey was conducted between March 23 and March 28, approximately two months after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the United States and the week that the U.S. surpassed China in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

LeadersUp is a social enterprise that connects young adults to economic opportunities and talent development solutions to address labor market disparities and economic inequities in low income and historically marginalized communities of color in Los Angeles, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. More than 80% of survey respondents live in one of those three cities. Half are from Chicago, which along with San Francisco is among the cities hardest hit in the U.S. by the spread of the coronavirus.Nearly 90% of the respondents are 16-30 years old, 95% identify as a person of color and more than 70% are female.

Among the key findings:

- 1 in 7 (14%) live with a dependent child- 1 in 8 (12%) live alone

Young adults are most likely to turn to their family and friends in their time of need, followed by community organizations and government agencies, the results show. They are least likely to look to schools based on their current enrollment status and are reluctant to turn to employers and faith-based organizations.

"This speaks to the need for employers to develop community-based partnerships and relationships to provide support, including health and wellness, skills building and employment assistance," said LeadersUp President and CEO Jeffery Wallace.

- 76% believe they will find a job within 16 months - 11% believe they will find a job in less than 1 month

Wallace says that might be overly optimistic.

"History has shown us that economic shifts leave behind the most vulnerable populations," said Wallace. "Youth disconnection rates during the recession of 2008 were 5 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate. We anticipate that young people of color from low-income households will be among the hardest hit Americans, as our research shows that 52% of young people surveyed were either laid off or in fear of being laid off. Yet, they are the least likely to be heard and to be hired following COVID-19. This at-risk talent contributes to median household incomes that are already very low, on average, compared to median household incomes of Whites and Asians.Policy makers and employers need to be intentional around diversifying post-COVID-19 hiring incentives and processes to be inclusive of the next generation of diverse talent."

Wallace will be joined by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-California, 30th District), Gary Frazier, founder and CEO of OM Healthcare, Inc., and other corporate and civic leaders in the virtual roundtable "COVID-19: Flatten the Curve, Bridge the Divide," on Tuesday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (PDT). Sponsored by theStupski Foundation, the thought leaders will discuss creating opportunity markets that drive sustainable and inclusive economic recovery and growthstrategies for those most severely impacted by COVID-19.

"Young adults of color have the talent and drive that we need to rebuild our economy after this public health crisis," said Jennifer Nguyen, Director of Postsecondary Success at the Stupski Foundation, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. "These same young people are experiencing disproportionate levels of layoffs, food insecurity and housing instability as a result of COVID-19. At Stupski, we are committed to supporting students so they can pursue their career goals. We are grateful to LeadersUp for amplifying the voices of young adults of color so we can understand their experiences and think collectively about how we can rebuild a workforce that is more inclusive and equitable."

Media who would like to attend can email Karen Lewis at [emailprotected]. Visit leadersup.org to download the full report. Watch a video of young adults impacted by COVID-19.

LeadersUp has curated a value-added ecosystem that connects employers with the untapped potential of diverse, next-generation talent, more than 38,000 young adults in five years. LeadersUp partners with school districts, community colleges, juvenile justice organizations and community-based groups to provide free access to its career readiness tools. To flatten the curve and bridge the divide, LeadersUp is optimizing its digital tools to provide access to coaching, job and career development on hand-held devices.

"We are committed to standing in the opportunity gap so that the disparate economic outcomes that low-income young adults of color are already facing aren't deepened by this crisis," Wallace said.

About LeadersUp: Established in 2013 by Starbucks and forward-thinking business leaders, LeadersUp is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit and talent development accelerator that bridges the divide between the untapped potential of young people and the business challenge of finding and keeping the best talent. LeadersUp provides professional development training and career opportunities via its Future at Work Summits in Chicago, Los Angeles and the Bay Area/Silicon Valley to connect the untapped potential of young adults who are out of work and not in school with employers in need of talent.

Media contacts: Karen Lewis | [emailprotected]| 323-424-9400 (LA/San Francisco Bay area) or Shawn Taylor | [emailprotected] | 312-371-6260 (Chicago).

SOURCE LeadersUp

https://leadersup.org

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The Next Generation of Diverse Talent from Low-Income Communities Are Worried About COVID-19's Impact on Their Quality of Life, Overall Well-Being -...

Profits over people. Thats how the effort to begin opening up the U.S. economy is being framed. Its a false distinction. Sober-minded people recognize that the current suspension of business and commerce is unsustainable. Big business loses billions, small business (i.e. 1-500 employees) millions. With our inter-related economy, bankruptcies will spiral out of control, the federal government helpless to stop it. As goes the U.S. economy, so goes the world. Witness the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Within this very possible doomsday scenario, consider the millions of lives affected: loss of job, home and hope. A plague worse than the coronavirus.

We saw this ripple effect on a much smaller scale beginning about 25 years ago when manufacturing moved to China. Local businesses that supported them and profited from them dried up and the middle class shrank. Ashtabula and thousands of communities across the U.S. suffered greatly. Many people never recovered and thriving communities became ghost towns.

Communities now are facing a loss of tax revenue that we depend on to make life livable. Remember this when our streets arent plowed, law enforcement officers are laid off, school levies fail and hospitals close. As Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals lose revenue due to suspension of elective surgery, how many hospitals will remain in Ashtabula County? Dont imagine for a minute that the federal government will bail us out. To print money without a solid base supporting it will render our dollar as worthless as the Confederate dollar with hyper-inflation like that of Venezuela.

Im thankful to Auditor David Thomas, who knows more about money than most of us, for his letter to the editor last week pointing out the drastic effects weve already experienced. President Trump, the supposed dictator, has wisely left the opening up process to individual governors while urging an intentional but gradual process.

The coronavirus will always be with us and more will die. Thats not callous, Im in a vulnerable group myself, but far fewer have died than was predicted. We must confront it with safety precautions and all the medical tools at our disposal, while we return to a strong, robust economy that will protect the well-being of all of our citizens.

Mary Ellen Blake

Ashtabula

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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Sometimes the cure is worse than the affliction | Letters To The Editor - The Star Beacon

RICE CALLS ON MURPHY TO ADD LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DIVERSITY OFFICER

TO COVID-19 ECONOMIC RESPONSE TEAM

LETS EMBRACE A STATUS QUO THAT REPRESENTS US ALL

TRENTON Senator Ronald L. Rice praised Governor Phil Murphy for his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and called upon him to appoint the states Lieutenant Governor and Diversity Officer as key members of the New Jerseys COVID-19 Economic Response Team.

In letter sent Tuesday evening, Rice commended Murphy for his governance during this extremely difficult chapter in New Jerseys history and the inspiration derived from his selfless attention to the desperate scenarios playing out across our state.

As Chair of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, Rices letter described howCOVID-19 has pointed a laser beam on the pre-existingstructural and systemic inequitiesthathavediminished access to quality healthcare, employment, housing and economic opportunities for communities of color, resulting in a disproportionate increasein deaths and economic desperation for Blacks, Latinos and the disadvantaged.

As the state moves forward in developing an Economic Response Team, it is of critical importance that Black and Latino legislators and equity leaders are embedded into the workgroup to inform and guide policy decisions and programs, wrote Rice. Their inclusion and input from the start will ensure: (1) Direct, immediate access to information about government sponsored programs and resources; and (2) Policies and processes designed todeploy programs and fund allocations equitably.

Toward that end, paralleling a model even Donald Trump has adopted to position his second-in-command on the national taskforce, Rice advised Murphy to appoint Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver to the New Jersey response team. In addition, the Senator recommended that Chief Diversity Officer Hester Agudosi, Esq. be included for her outstanding strengths.

Regarding the professional qualifications and expertise of the two officials, Rice wrote:

As former Speaker of the New Jersey State Assembly, Lieutenant Governor Oliver is singularly qualified to share valuable insight on the intricacies of the legislative budget and the functions of departments and agencies. Just as important is her thorough understanding of the mechanics of legislative politics and her intimate knowledge of the needs, concerns and issues that plague residents, small businesses and communities of color.

Likewise, Diversity Officer Agudosis vigilance in safeguarding inclusion and equality is vital to our states progress in the best of times. Now, at this crossroads, it is critical. Her ability to recognize and create business and economic opportunities for women and minorities, and to monitor the performance of our statewide strategic Diversity and Inclusion Plan is essential to our recovery from catastrophe.

Rice concluded the letter by framing the challenge of the COVID-19 crisis as a chance to tap the diverse talents and experience of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multifaceted state, writing, As we stand before this momentous opportunity to create a new, improved normal for New Jersey, a diverse response team demonstrates an intentional effort to embrace a status quo that now represents us all.

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RICE CALLS ON MURPHY TO ADD LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DIVERSITY OFFICER TO COVID-19 ECONOMIC RESPONSE TEAM - InsiderNJ

This year I participated in two virtual Passover seders. My makeshift seder plate held parsley, thats it, and I bought a bottle of wine. Conversation focused on how this night is different from all other nights, but also how this year is different from all other years. While I wish I could have seen my family and friends in person, I was grateful to have the technology to gather virtually to celebrate liberation and springtime, two of my favorite things.

Most of us around the world are experiencing a form of physical distancing we havent felt before in our lives. Were watching our digital engagement accelerate exponentially as we learn that a lot of the work we do can be accomplished remotely. Were also learning that while quarantined in our homes, we can easily connect with loved ones all over the world through video calls.

There are definitely some positive changes that could emerge post-COVID. Health care could amp up the use of telehealth services and employers could expand work from home policies. These changes will undoubtedly have their benefits, as weve seen pollution levels decrease with fewer flights, cruises, and car commutes. We clearly dont need to be moving around as much as we do.

Though I support these types of changes, right now Id like to make the case, post-COVID, for more contact, more community, and more togetherness rather than more isolation, more distancing, and more digital connection. One of the biggest things COVID has shown me is how important community and interdependence are for our survival.

For us to be resilient beings, and belong to resilient communities, we need each other. COVID has exposed the feebleness of our consumer society: grocery stores are running low on all kinds of staples from flour to canned beans because we are afraid theres not enough. We are afraid someone else will swipe them up and well be left with none. While there is not actually a shortage in our food supply, we are feeling feelings of scarcity, and reacting with a mindset of not enough. And, to varying degrees, were relying on a massive, globalized, corporate, and unsustainable system to bring us our most basic need: food.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines resiliency as an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change. This word is used a lot in the context of personal traumas, like sexual violence, and collective traumas, like natural disasters or COVID. One way for communities to be resilient as a collective is to have greater control, or sovereignty, over the food we eat.

That could mean growing our own vegetables if we have the space, or being part of a community garden. It could mean shopping at farmers markets and supporting local growers. In general, it means figuring out how to get our food needs met ourselves, and closer to home. And, very importantly, food sovereignty means everyone, not just a privileged few, has the right to control what they eat and where they get their food.

Food is huge, but what else makes us resilient? Another basic human need is to feel that we belong, that we are included, held, and loved. Not long ago, we used to live in larger households with multiple generations under one roof. My dad grew up in Turkey surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Many cultures worldwide still do this, but its not the norm in the West: higher education often means greater mobility, taking us far away from loved ones.

Yet, its critical that we feel we are part of something greater than ourselves. Its the reason why so many of us felt moved by the videos of Italians singing together from their balconies: they were sending the message that were all in this together. But even more than simply being together, we actually need to be needed by one another. This authentic reliance is the glue that holds us together as human beings, and it doesnt work if we attempt to take care of ourselves financially, emotionally, and otherwise without looking to other humans for support.

I am fortunate to be a part of a small intentional community in Portland, OR, comprised of 8 adults and 3 kids living on almost an acre of property. We grow vegetables and fruit, make music, and break bread together at least twice a week. We all have our own work and our own lives, but we also prioritize our community. In this COVID era, I have felt enormously grateful to have my housemates as we pool our shopping lists, plant seeds in our greenhouses, and continue to have impromptu jam sessions. While I understand this is not a lifestyle for everyone, it is for me, and I wonder how we can all incorporate elements of greater cooperation and mutual aid into our lives.

When we think about our survival needs, can we start looking closer to home? How can we rely on our friends and neighbors for their unique skills and gifts, whether its woodworking, beekeeping, hair cutting, or web design? Can we pool our resources, financial and social, for community projects? Perhaps we can begin to actually need each other again, as we did before global capitalism gave us the freedom to pursue our individual careers that support our individual selves. Perhaps we can bring our fellow humans and our fragile yet resilient planet to the forefront of our hearts by embracing our undeniable interdependence.

While were proving that we can easily connect digitally, I hope that the world post-COVID is less dominated by screens than it was before. I hope that when its safe to, we can greet each other with open arms. Because embracing one another, literally and figuratively, is critical to our survival.

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A Case for Community in the Wake of COVID - Elemental

Constance and the other martyrs of Memphis are remembered as part of a larger window in All Saints Chapel at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Sister Hughetta, the only nun to survive the yellow fever epidemic, moved to Sewanee, and in 1888, she and other sisters started what is now the Southern Province of the Sisters of St. Mary. Photo: University of the South

Editors note: A previous version of this story included a photo that incorrectly identified the woman shown as Constance. The woman was Mother Harriet Stone Cannon who founded the order in 1865.

[Episcopal News Service] The martyrdom of Constance and her five companions, who died within a month of each other while ministering to residents of Memphis, Tennessee, amid the 1878 yellow fever epidemic, has always inspired the ministry of St. Marys Episcopal Cathedral.

The Rev. Laura Gettys, the Memphis cathedrals interim dean, told Episcopal News Service that the question is how to continue to live out the story and not leave it on the shelf as a legend from the past. She said that is especially true now as the COVID-19 pandemic inspires members of the cathedral but restrictions on movement challenge their ministries.

On the days when I particularly feel overwhelmed, Im mindful of what they did. They showed up and were faithful and were present to those who needed them the most. They were there for prayer, for love, for compassion, and many times for medical care, Gettys said.

The Rev. Tobias Stanislas Haller wrote this icon of Constance and her companions in 1999 originally for the Brotherhood of St. Gregorys Fessenden Recovery Ministry in Yonkers, New York. The icon was later given to St. Marys Episcopal Cathedral. Photo: Tobias Stanislas Haller

The legacy of the Martyrs of Memphis, as they are known, is both gift and challenge, she said. It is in every fiber of who we are and what we are about. Episcopalians at the cathedral have followed the martyrs example by growing into a hub of worship and services for the community, Gettys said, concentrating on companionship and inequities in housing and medical care.

The yellow fever epidemic of 1878 began in New Orleans, spread up the Mississippi River and moved inland. An estimated 120,000 people contracted the hemorrhagic fever, and 13,000 to 20,000 died.

The martyrs story is a harrowing one of people dying in streets and parks, as others were found insensible without attendants, according to a historical account compiled the following year.

It begins in 1873 when Episcopal nuns from the Community of St. Mary in New York, including eventual martyrs Constance and Thelca, came to Memphis after Tennessee Bishop Charles T. Quintard asked New York Bishop Horatio Potter to send some sisters to found a school in Memphis. They soon encountered a yellow fever epidemic, and the teachers began nursing sick Memphians. It was the first of three yellow fever outbreaks in the city over 10 years.

Five years later, after the end of the school year, Constance and Thelca were resting at the orders mother house in Peekskill, New York, when they received news on Aug. 5 that the fever had struck Memphis a second time. While residents with means, about 30,000, were fleeing the city, the sisters prepared to return. They arranged for money and supplies to be sent ahead to Memphis. When they arrived on Aug. 20, they found the cathedral neighborhood to be the citys most infected area. Plans had been made for the nuns to attend to the citys sick during the day and to sleep in the country every night for safety.

We cannot listen to such a plan; it would never do; we are going to nurse day and night; we must be at our post, one wrote.

The nuns and priests moved among the estimated 20,000 Memphians who remained in the city. They comforted the dying, tried to help the sick and took in many orphans. The Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, the rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Memphis, who wrote to Quintard five days before dying, called the sisters the brave, unshrinking daughters of a Divine Love.

In September and early October of 1878, yellow fever decimated the city and the group working out of the cathedral. Parsons, a former U.S. Army artillery commander who defended Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer at his 1867 court-martial, died on Sept. 6. Three days later Constance, superior of the work at Memphis and headmistress of the school, died. She was 33. Thecla, cathedral and school chapel sacristan who also taught music and English and Latin grammar, died Sept. 12. Sister Ruth, a nurse from Trinity Infirmary in New York who came to help, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler, newly ordained assistant rector at Parsons prior parish, Church of the Holy Innocents, Hoboken, New Jersey, both died Sept. 17. Sister Frances, a newly professed nun given charge of the orders Church Home orphanage, died Oct. 4.

All six are buried near each other in the citys historic Elmwood Cemetery, one of the Souths first rural cemeteries. The high altar at St. Marys, consecrated on Pentecost 1879, memorializes the sisters. The steps are inscribed with Alleluia Osanna, Constances last words.

These days, Gettys said, she is thinking about our call, not to martyrdom but to be present to one another and to the community and to the Way of Love, and that is exactly what the sisters were doing.

It did end, for many, in martyrdom, but their call was not to that. It was to one another and to the neighborhood and those particularly who did not have the privilege and means to leave the city.

Today, Episcopalians at the cathedral remain in the city, but a shelter-in-place order has changed their ministries. The most prominent example is the Wednesday morning Eucharist in Sisters Chapel and breakfast, supplemented by music and access to social services, for 150 to 175 community members in Martyrs Hall. The ministry is open to all but is focused on poor people, many of whom are homeless.

With none of the regular volunteers available, Gettys and the Rev. Patrick Williams, the cathedrals canon pastor, have turned the morning into an abbreviated and less-crowded gathering that includes a prayer, a to-go sack meal and information about the few resources and agencies that are still available.

One of those agencies, and a long-time partner with the cathedral, is the nearby Constance Abbey, an intentional community of Episcopalians that serves the vulnerable in the Memphis Medical District neighborhood surrounding the cathedral. Because the cathedral is surrounded by a number of hospitals, health care workers and medical students often come to the church to pray, and the cathedral often stages health fairs in a nearby park.

The four sisters of the Community of St. Mary who died within days of each other while nursing other Memphians in the 1878 yellow fever epidemic are buried in the citys Elmwood Cemetery. Photo: Historic-Memphis.com

The Episcopal Church will commemorate Constance and her companions on Sept. 9, as it has since 1985 when the General Convention added the martyrs to its calendar of commemorations. Depending on the status of COVID-19, St. Marys will have some version of its annual Martyrs Weekend celebration, Gettys said. Normally, there is a Lessons and Carols-type service featuring readings from the martyrs letters and diaries with music. There is also a service at Elmwood Cemetery followed by a picnic. A member of the Community of St. Mary at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, often comes for the celebration, bringing with her the chalice that was used at Eucharist during the epidemic.

Others across the church have been considering the resonance of the martyrs story in these days of COVID-19. The Rev. Julia M. Gatta, the Bishop Frank A. Juhan professor of pastoral theology at the School of Theology in Sewanee, told ENS she sees parallels between the heroism of Constance and her companions and todays essential workers. Those workers, in hospitals or grocery stores, are trying to help their communities survive. She especially pointed to retired health care workers who have come out of retirement to volunteer despite their age and increased vulnerability.

There are differences, too. While the priests in Memphis felt obligated to bring the Last Rites to people during the yellow fever epidemic, Gatta said clergy today are discouraged from doing so in person, so as not to become an unwitting coronavirus carrier. It makes it painful for clergy to not be able to minister to their own people who are dying, who are sick, she said.

Gatta teaches pastoral theology, including ministry to the sick and dying, and tells her students they must act responsibly. They must obey medical protocols, even if those measures seem to create a degree of separation from their congregants. However, she also speaks about Constance and her companions, telling future priests that sometimes they will have to take risks in order to minister to the sick. Those risks, however, must not be crazy risks, ones that can have risks beyond ourselves but to other people as well.

There is another kind of risk these days, Gatta said. Besides the grace of heroism, people need to be aware of the peculiar temptations right now, especially around desolation, to become closed in on themselves, to become embittered, to become despairing, she said. There are particular temptations that go with this moment as well, and they require vigilance.

Meanwhile, Anna Fitch Courie, who championed Constance and her companions in the 2016 edition of Lent Madness has been thinking about the different ways people are called.

We all have very different, profound callings in our lives that dont necessarily mean you have to be on the front lines putting cool cloths on those with COVID-19, she said. But you are called, and you are called to listen to where God is sending you messages and whispering to you in your life.

Some people are on the front lines, and some are called to pray for them. Some can sew masks, and some can buy the material for those masks, she said. Fitch Courie, who is a nurse but whose own health puts her in the high-risk category, told ENS that she knows that an ICU is not where she is called to be right now, even though that is where she used to nurse.

You have to come to this point in your spiritual life where you are very comfortable and secure that you are doing what you are called to do at that time, she said.

Constance trusted Gods call, Fitch Courie said, and was true to her name, which means constant presence, dependable, faithful. She shows what it looks like to live a life based on consistently praying and listening for and responding to Gods call.

The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg retired in July 2019 as senior editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service.

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'Martyrs of Memphis' have lessons to teach those battling COVID-19 - Episcopal News Service

Editors note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing readers free access to critical local stories about the coronavirus during this time of heightened concern. See more coverage here. To support journalism like this, please consider donating or become a subscriber.

Farmington Three northern Utah counties say they are ready to start relaxing some restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, and could be ready to open shuttered restaurants, gyms and other businesses May 1.

County officials say they are waiting for Herbert to release specific guidelines next week, but said theyll emphasize social distancing, increased cleanings and wearing face masks for businesses that could reopen in the beginning of May.

They say their new order could impact openings for everything from restaurants to retail outlets to spas and construction businesses. Guidelines for opening parks or holding events are expected to be released at a later date.

County officials say they're comfortable with starting to reopen businesses after looking at data, including the number of people in their counties who have COVID-19 and the local hospitals' capability to treat people who are ill with the virus.

"We have been effective," said Weber-Morgan Health Department Executive Director Brian Bennion. "I stand today excited, but still cautious. This is not over."

Like state officials, Bennion likened the soft opening to a "dimmer" instead of a "light switch."

"We're going to begin turning up the light," he said, "and moving forward."

County officials said they believe that by May 1, their areas will be at "moderate risk" and things can start to reopen.

"It is nice to perceive some light at the end of a difficult tunnel," said Morgan County Commissioner Robert McConnell.

The commissioners pushed back on criticism that officials went overboard initially in shuttering certain businesses like gyms and spas, and limiting restaurant services. Davis County Commissioner Lorene Kamalu said they "nailed it" when it came to ordering the closures.

This was all about timing, she said. And doing the right things at the right time. Because if you act too late, you have missed the opportunity. We were very intentional with the timing of each phase so far.

The northern Utah counties joined Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele and Wasatch counties in issuing stay-at-home orders in late Match. The governor opted for a directive instead encouraging residents statewide to stay home.

Other counties are also considering whether to ease up on restrictions beginning May 1. Summit County leaders made a similar announcement Tuesday though some feared it might be too soon to reopen businesses there because it is a tourist destination and has been a hot spot for the coronavirus.

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson relaxed its countys order last week, saying it was no longer necessary for people to stay at home as often. She also said county leaders would evaluate in the coming weeks to see if some businesses could open May 1.

But Salt Lake Citys mayor is not ready to begin loosening stay-at-home restrictions quite yet.

Areas continue to see some of Utahs highest virus transmission rates, Mayor Erin Mendenhall said, so the city needs its own tailored and data-driven approach to the health crisis.

Our most vulnerable communities are the most severely impacted, Mendenhall said during a Monday teleconference with young Utah leaders.

She said the city would continue to monitor several benchmarks for the outbreak and work with newly available data from Salt Lake County Health Department officials.

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Davis, Weber and Morgan counties want some restaurants and businesses to open as soon as May 1 - Salt Lake Tribune

Part 3 of 3 Mental Health in the Covid World

The coronavirus pandemic is going to cause immense pain and suffering. But it will force us to reconsider who we are and what we value. In the long run, it could help us discover a better version of ourselves. When this crisis ends, I hope we will reorient our politics and make substantial new investments in public goods for health, especially. I dont think we will become less communal. Instead, we will be more conscious, more aware, of our interdependency. I hope that it will mark the end of our romance with instant gratification and hyper-individualism. As weve witnessed the market-based models for social organization fail, catastrophically, self-seeking behavior makes this crisis so much more dangerous than it needed to be. The economy and social order would have collapsed into anarchy if the government didnt guarantee income for the millions of workers who suffered unemployment.

But while many of our institutions have failed, the civic responsibility and altruism of millions who have stayed home, lost income, kept their kids inside, self-quarantined, refrained from hoarding, supported each other, and even pooled resources to bolster health workers, leads me to the belief in a better future. Harnessing a new sense of solidarity, we have the opportunity to unify to face the enormous global challenges ahead.

One inspiring outcome from the lockdown is how people are finding new ways to connect and support each other through adversity. Being social animals, our natural instinct during times of crisis is to connect. Not asynchronously through drip feeds of our curated lives, engaging only as voyeurs. But by coexisting, concurrently. Attention-heavy synchronous conversations like raw and unfiltered videochats can foster a new form of closeness reminiscent to older eras. Professional enterprise technology Zoom and TEAMS, for example have been usurped for meandering, motive-less togetherness. Thank god for this sufficiently advanced technology that is practically indistinguishable from magicor wed all be channeling our inner Cast Away!

In the default world, our time is occupied by acquaintances of convenience or circumstance. The co-workers who share our office. The friends who live nearby. The parents of the children our kids go to school with. Were strikingly un-intentional and mundane about our relationships. But now were motivated to build a virtual family, completely of our choosing. The calculus has shifted from who is convenient or who has the best invitation, to who makes us feel most human. Were returning to the form of youthful socialization of just hanging out. In the past two months, Ive connected with old friends I havent seen together in a decade, met new partners I hadnt yet seen in real life, and have had near daily check-ins with both of my parents. In some ways, the pandemic is forcing a new and improved form of mediated social connection the way connecting is innately meant to be.

Another form of raw humanity thats arising from Covid is the frequent but lightweight communication of sharing videos and memes. The internets response to COVID-19 has been a global outpour of gallows humor. From Facebook groups like the quarter-million member Zoom Memes for Quaranteens, to the sardonic Instagram Quentin Quarantine, and the myriad of TikTokers all joining up to weather the crisis. Memes allow us to convert our creeping dread and stir craziness into something borderline productive. Memes offer a new medium of solidarity, of one-ness; were all in this hellscape together so we may as well make fun of it. As one of my friends often claims, we laugh because if we didnt, wed cry. So we force laughter, self-deprecating, but oddly familiar, formulating a connection through the deep understanding of each others misery. Powerless and isolated, were finding that the joke is now our most reliable shield and our warmest comfort blanket.

Oddly, what remains feels more social than social networks have in a long time. Perhaps its because the flood of status symbol content into Instagram Stories has been replaced by our lives in the flesh. No one is going out and doing anything cool to show off, and if they are, they should be ashamed of themselves. For the first time since the dawn of social media, people are sharing their lives in the present, unfiltered, with no lighting or edits or make up. Our highly curated autobiographical content has screeched to a halt, and thank God, it was about time. We had turned social media into a sport where we spent the whole time staring at the scoreboard. Its freed us from the external validation that too often rules our decision making, because fortunately, there are no Like counts on Zoom. Coronavirus has absolved our desire to share the recent past, and our near future is so uncertain that theres little sense in making plans. As shelter-in-place orders get extended in piecemeal, we have no choice but to remain firmly fixed in the present.

And much like our intentional communities, social media has become less about how it looks, and more about how it feels. Does it put me at peace, make me laugh, or abate the loneliness? Then do it. Theres no more FOMO because theres nothing to miss. Staying at home enjoying some self-indulgence finally doesnt have a trade-off. Even celebrities are getting into it. Rather than professional photos and flashy music videos, theyre unedited, and truly live. John Legend did a live quarantine concert with his wife Chrissy Teigen sitting in a towel, Coldplays Chris Martin streamed a song with the tag #TogetherAtHome, promoting the online entertainment of isolated fans, and some even use their platforms to urge people to stay at home.

Social media was ready for a colossal shift. For the past 18 months at least, Ive felt nauseated by it all the virtue signaling, the status symbols, the FOMO-inducing stories, the blatantly plastic or plastered, and the #blessed. The solipsism on Instagram that comes with flying on someone elses jet or sailing on a billionaires yacht, it just felt soover the top. Kind of like the visceral feeling of angst that you get in Las Vegas or Dubai. And Facebook and Twitter werent any better. The vitriolic comments, deliberate shaming, the fake news and just generally vapid chatter, has permeated my online experiences for years. But suddenly, the discourse shifted. The nature of conversations recently has shifted from utterly vacuous brain candy, to profound, useful, data-driven, supportive and inclusive communication. Friends offering strangers time to talk if theyre lonely, peers volunteering with the elderly, shout-outs to companies and entrepreneurs dedicating their resources.

Some of the most heartwarming outpourings of the internet have been the willingness of others to share their offerings. What would ordinally come with a steep price tag, is suddenly available as a gift. Its like Burning Mans gifting economy moved online. The webs mental immune system has kicked into gear amidst the outbreak. Rather than wallowing in captivity, weve developed digital antibodies that are evolving to fight the solitude. Weve developed digital congregations to compensate for the loss of physical ones. One-off livestreams have turned into online music festivals, self-help conferences, remote classes and coordinated mindfulness retreats. Despite being physically separated, weve never been closer. Investors are offering free pitch feedback, performing arts centers are screening live plays, and pastors and rabbis have moved online. And yes, Burning Man, finally, has gone digital.

Perhaps we can use our time with our devices to rethink the kind of communities we can create through them. This is a different life on the screen from disappearing into a video game or polishing ones avatar. This is cracked open humanity, leveraging tools for the broader good premised on generosity and empathy. This is looking within and asking: what can I authentically offer? What do people need? When the infection waves pass, I hope this swell of creativity and in-the-moment togetherness stays strong. The internet is just a tool that reveals the fabric of humanity, and for the first time in a while, Im proud of the way people are showing up for each other, rather than showing off.

Value of Truth and Expertise

Social media as a public square is a place for discourse and commiseration. But its also the place for gossip and instant accusations and judgment. Click baiting, sensationalist headlines have been emblematic of the last decade. And theyve become even more present during the Covid episode, propelled by a system built to attract eyeballs that inadvertently becomes a race to the bottom. For years, it has incentivized controversy, outrage, and half-baked contrarianism, because this is entertainment at its worst.

And America, in all its glory and triumph, has become the zenith of it all. For the past several years, America has become a fundamentally unserious country. This is the luxury afforded us by peace, affluence and the convergence of consumer technologies. We were absolved of the necessity to weigh our existentialism through real threats of nuclear war, oil shortages, high unemployment, skyrocketing interest rates. We even posted a reality TV star to the presidency; whose defining tribute is a populist attack on the expertise that makes government relevant. But when our health and livelihoods are at stake, we are forced to accept that expertise matters. Perhaps we will witness a return of Americans to a new seriousness, or perhaps resign to the idea that government is a matter for serious people. The colossal failure of the Trump administration both to keep Americans healthy and to slow the pandemic-driven implosion of the economy might shock the public enough back to insisting on something from government other than emotional satisfaction

And as people are demanding unambiguous data, seeking clear information from science-based experts, its interesting to watch who the world is gravitating to; who emerges as leaders and which leaders lose the trust of their people. Bill Gates, who presciently predicted this outbreak in a 2016 TED Talk, has been elevated as a true world leader. A trusted (and importantly, relatively apolitical figure), who uses science and raw data to support his arguments. Similarly, epidemiologists and medical clinicians are experiencing a brand-new reach.

Now on social media, administrators are starting (though somewhat inconsistently and half-heartedly) to punish people who have internalized the dopamine-hit incentives. Recognizing the spread of misinformation, Chinese tech giants, already well-versed in censorship, put their tools to good use to prevent the spread of such lies. The creators of WeChat have integrated a fact-checking platform to dispel harmful misconceptions. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, are also actively working to ensure that only correct sources get amplified. Content from reputable accounts is given priority, while amateur claims are being scrutinized and factchecked. Twitter is voraciously erasing quack cure tweets from former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani and Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro, and Facebook taking down two videos by Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro that disputed the need for social distancing. WhatsApp has restricted users ability to forward posts, a blanket measure meant to flatten the curve of disinformations spread. But its still a game of whack-a-mole. Banning the most offensive might be a straightforward call, but many of the less egregiously bad tweets tweets that do not appear to violate any of the platforms rules but nonetheless sow unnecessary fear or cause confusion regarding matters of life and death come from people who are merely trying to be good at Twitter. Social media was always designed to give us what we want, not what we need. But the problem is too systemic to be reversed overnight; a bad tweet, morally speaking, is often a good tweet, judging strictly by the numbers. And this is why we needed a shift.

As they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. There will be much financial and economic pain along the road to a recovery, but something had to awaken us from headlong rush towards the perdition of over-indebtedness, overconsumption, overpriced assets and general overindulgence.

There are, to a certain degree, parallels that can be drawn between the current COVID-19 pandemic and some of the other contemporary crises our world is facing. All require a global-to-local response and long-term thinking; all need to be guided by science and need to protect the most vulnerable among us; and all require the political will to make fundamental changes when faced with existential risks. In this sense, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic may lead to a deeper understanding of the ties that bind us all on a global scale and could help us get to grips with the largest public health threat of the century, the climate crisis.

Coronavirus is upending everything from aviation to retail and its also having a big impact on the environment. A drop in air pollution was first observed by NASA in Chinas Hubei province, where the coronavirus outbreak began in December. Marshall Burke, a researcher at Stanford University, calculated the improvements in air quality recorded in China may have saved the lives of 4,000 children under 5 years old and 73,000 adults over 70. Even more conservative estimates would put the number of lives saved at roughly 20 times the number of deaths from the virus directly. Though while it is clearly incorrect and foolhardy to conclude that pandemics are good for health, the calculation is a useful reminder of the often-hidden health consequences of the status quo. Nothing should go back to normal; normal wasnt working.

Nature is sending us a message with the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis, said the UNs environment chief, Inger Andersen. Andersen claimed humanity was placing too many pressures on the natural world with damaging consequences, and warned that failing to take care of the planet meant not taking care of ourselves. To prevent further outbreaks, the experts said, both global heating and the destruction of the natural world for farming, mining and housing have to end, as both drive wildlife into contact with people. An end to live animal markets which they called an ideal mixing bowl for disease and the illegal global animal trade.

The scale of the coronavirus crisis calls to mind 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis events that reshaped society in lasting ways, from how we travel and buy homes, to the level of security and surveillance were accustomed to, and even common vernacular. But this cocktail of constraints and boredom is a potent trigger for innovation. Constraints are, in a way, a reverse Occams Razor a force that removes the most obvious and mundane solutions from the table. With constraints, were forced to recalibrate and search for ways to solve problems that already have simple solutions. Crisis moments present opportunity: more sophisticated and flexible use of technology, less polarization, a revived appreciation for the outdoors and lifes other simple pleasures.

The 21st century has been firmly dedicated to the self. Self-reliance, self-help, self-growth and self-independence. But this virus is reminding us that we are all connected, we need others and we need social support. Its the quality of your relationships that determines the quality of your life, they say. It is reminding us that the false borders that we have put up have little value as this virus does not need a passport. It is reminding us of how precious our health is and how we have moved to neglect it through eating nutrient poor manufactured food and drinking water that is contaminated with chemicals upon chemicals. If we dont look after our health, we will, in fact, be sick. Disease knows no xenophobia, and suffering knows no borders. We are being stress tested, and if we pay attention theres a huge opportunity to learn about ourselves. Were shedding layers from our past that dont serve us anymore. As we become still, whatever stillness means to you, we will be given ideas and messages about how we are to come out of this, what our role will be.

As Eric Davis says, this is the moment when baseline reality dissolves and no new reality has emerged and its pixelating weight. As Shots of Awe host, Jason Silva claims, its like someone dosed our drink with acid and didnt tell us, and were collectively realizing the only way out is through. Once we contend and metabolize the panic and converge our brilliance and creativity, we realize from an ego death can come renewal, transformation, reinvention. This is our chance to be the phoenix that rises from the ashes.

Weve been heading towards mad max and now we have the opportunity to head towards star trek. In the rush to return to normal, we must use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to. We took life for granted. It was heavy, and toxic. And while this crisis will pass like every other, we must not forget it, we must come out wiser than we went in. This can either be an end or a new beginning. This can be a time of reflection and understanding, where we learn from our mistakes, or it can be the start of a cycle which will continue until we finally learn the lesson we are meant to. Perhaps Corona is the great corrector we all needed.

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Covid-19 and The Future of Humanity - Brianna Lee Welsh - Elemental

Major emergencies can be a huge catastrophe, not just for individuals' lives, but also for communities and economies. Thriving organizations play a pivotal role in society and are a vital part of the evolving and future equation. It is clear to all that the commercial reality of COVID-19 is and will continue to be significant, with a far-reaching impact that has the potential to be both positive and negative.

While decisions relating to back-of-house cost-savings, business continuity and the like are required to see a business through difficult times, I want to take stock of the horizon-level implications of this pandemic and think about positioning well for whats yet to come.

In my doctoral work, I am exploring the longevity (or lack thereof) of businesses, and if ever there was a time for uncertainty about the future of many organizations, now is surely it. Businesses (and countries, for that matter) are closing or adjusting their operations by necessity, choice or order. Yet some businesses (and not necessarily the most obvious) are, in many ways, growing or even benefiting considerably.

In China, we have seen not only storable consumer goods companies perform well, but also content streaming/gaming and skincare/cosmetics brands. The logic behind some of these is immediately clear, but when it comes to categories such as beauty, what we're likely seeing is the flow-on impact of all that content consumption. In many cases, this is currently just a matter of rapidly shifting market needs. But as the future unfolds and the reality of our post-pandemic world settles around us, success is more likely to be intentional than fortuitous.

Day by day, brands are figuring out how to respond to the current COVID-19 situation, but its clear this is not a one-size-fits-all case. This is a time of real human challenge. Emotions and stakes are high, and there is a great opportunity for many, but also a deep obligation and with that comes the necessity for great care.

Businesses have long been lamenting the demise of brand loyalty. Yet loyalty is a complex beast, and now is not the time for loyalty programs. Thoughtful, appropriate action now will be well rewarded in both loyalty and longevity, yet the inverse is perhaps more than ever true. For example, during the strict isolation period in China, PureGym and Orange Theory Fitness not only paused all membership fees, but they also offered daily streamed classes for free. Shanghai Fashion Week has taken up the challenge and is now live streaming the entire event. Insensitive missteps or inaction will pave the way to downfall, or at the very least, a downturn. A more useful line of thinking is that the seeds sown today will pay dividends in the harvest (that is, the time on the other side).

So, for a moment, lets look beyond the immediate challenges of today the closures, supply chain disruptions, cancellations and the like. If were doing our jobs well, we should also be thinking about what comes next. The future is as ever uncertain. Will we be looking at a major global economic slowdown in which our consumption habits reset to a time gone by? Will the global engine that is China fire back up with renewed fury and spur growth like never before? Time will tell what happens in the weeks and months to come, but one thing is clear: The victorious will not be those who choose inaction in the short term.

Outside of customer communications, social media and immediate tactical response, how might brands equip themselves for the next chapter? Here are some questions to consider in the coming weeks:

1. How do I want my brand to be remembered at this time?

No matter your market, inaction, silence or self-serving solutions are unlikely to bode well. Have a clear view, and act accordingly.

For example, Chinas Hema (Fresh Hippo) supermarket took displaced hospitality workers and retrained them in less than a day to fulfill online orders from a nation of people in self-quarantine. This not only kept an enormous number of people employed, but it also allowed them to continue to deliver an increasingly famous brand experience in a time of great need.

2. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, what will be the biggest fear of my customer (and the wider market)? Their biggest need? Crucially, how much does it cost them to solve this problem?

Today, employment for many is surely one need. Will financial independence have greater value? Will there be fear of another outbreak of a more serious nature? Will more flexible working methods and tools be required? Considering the answers to these questions now will help you to better assess how the needs of the market will shift, and how you might be best placed to solve them.

3. What demonstrable value can my brand offer in the wake of the outbreak?

For example, video-conferencing software company Zoom is making its product available for free to schools turning to remote teaching options owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. And Geely has announced a compact SUV with a virus filter and has received 30,000 orders.

Ultimately, the challenge of this time is evident. But its also a great leveler. We can take the view that things will be dire (or at the very least uncertain), or we can take steps now to create the future in which we want to be, and build a robust business with a loyal customer base to benefit for years to come.

Originally posted here:

Beyond The Pandemic: Where Do We Go From Here? - Forbes

What is true equity, and why has it been mostly absent in thecannabis space?

Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, Success Centersis onecompany actively finding solutions to this problem. It is a bridge that connectsmarginalized communities of entrepreneurs to the tools and leadership skills they need in order to start their own companies.

At the helm is Liz Jackson-Simpson, Chief Executive Officer. Since beginning her career at Success Centers asExecutive Director in 2010, she has tripled its capacity, transforming it from a $450,000 organization into a $2.1 millionorganization, as well as doubled its staff.

RELATED:How Terpenes Could Revolutionize The Cannabis Industry As We Know It

Founded 35 years ago to provide education and employment opportunities to youth in San Franciscos juvenile detention facilities, Success Centers today helps over 1,300 people frommarginalized communitiesannually. Around95 percent are low-income, and 87 percent are people of color.

The company's reach has grown 600 percent in the last 5 years, in part thanks to Angela White, Equity for Industry Program Manager at Success Centers. Her work at Success Centersexists to offer actionabletoolsto the most vulnerable communities impacted by the War On Drugs. White's team facilitates workshopsthat focus on ways to enter the space, teaching people howto utilize equity programs, where those programsexist, to their fullest extent.

Green Entrepreneur spoke with Jackson-Simpsonand White about the unique challenges people of color face entering the space, how the company's workshops are going virtual, and what the perfect equity law would look like if they could write it from scratch.

Liz Jackson-Simpson, left, and Angela White, right, of Success Centers. Photo by Jennifer Skog.

Green Entrepreneur: I hope you're both well and safe.I have to ask first and foremosthow have operations changed at Success Centers amid the Coronavirus pandemic? How have you shifted for the time being?

Liz Jackson-Simpson: We have been thinking about moving a lot of what we do into a virtual space. Particularly Angela and I, during the rush hour it can take over two hours to commute from home to our office. So weve been struggling for the past year to figure out, how do we operate in a virtual space when our business and the work and the meat of our content, working with our constituents, is so forward-facing?

Its also been very taxing, the amount of time weve been commuting every day. Were seasoned people, our children are grown, and we think about our colleagues who have young children. And how it's important for all of us to maintain a quality of life.So we can be there and present for the folks that we serve.We have been working with our colleagues,members on our team who are experts in technologyand work in a more virtual space, to find a solution.

As a result, weve been thinking about how our workshops or our instructional programs can be put on virtual systems, Learning Management Systems (LMS).Angela's Entrepreneurship In ANutshellwent live ina virtual space the very day that the [San Francisco] mayor ordered the shelter-in-place.They went immediately onto an LMS system, and havent missed a beat.

In addition to that, we have run a live Equity For Industry workshop, with tools on managing a cash-only business. Thats probably the broadest audience we were able to capture, via Facebook Live. That team has not missed a beat. And weve been sheltered in place since the 17th of March. Every Tuesday is their Entrepreneurship In A Nutshell workshop, Wednesday is the Equity for Industry workshop and job shops. On Wednesday is the team-up with the MBA students who are supporting them, again in a virtual space.

RELATED:People Are Spending Their Stimulus Checks On Cannabis

So cute, there was a 76-year-old woman who at first was struggling with the technology, but after the first session, she had it down. So we knew ifshe figured it out, we are good.

It's made me think, now that we are not so sequestered to what we can do in our physical space, how to really take it on the road andreach a broad audience.

Are you seeing an uptick in subscribers to your Hot Jobs alert, or in phone calls, or how has that translated in your point of view to people reaching out for a new career at this time?

Angela White: People are reaching out, Ive experienced having a lot of layoffs. Becauseat first, San Francisco decided to close dispensaries, and then a few days later, they saidto reopen. Ive seen a drop in the positions that are available right now. So I think that the effect of COVID for inhouse work, as far as budtenders, back house people working, working-class, has kind of slowed down as far as hiring. But I feel like the driving positions have picked up, as far as I can see, have been growing.

Now, on the more experienced level, veterans of the industry, I have not seen a lot of upper management positions that are being posted right now. So I think that everyone is trying to restructure and figure out where theyre going to be after all of this is over. Its been a little bit of a downtick as far as hiring numbers.

"If we want to be a better industry, a better country, we need to make some serious changes when it comes to people who have made major sacrifices."

- Angela White, Success Centers

I have faith in this industry that we will recover from this and blossom back into an even stronger one, especially where equity is concerned. In San Francisco, the folks that want to go into the business, one of the main areas where theyve been having struggles is finding a location. I think that once this thing is over, there may be an opportunity for space opening up for equity businesses in some of these green zones and brown zones. Although it's sad people are losing businesses, the opportunities for equity may be better as far as finding locations.

Is Success Centers seeing a larger demand or need for people to fill certain roles in the cannabis space, as far as employment efforts in the last month? Has the demand morphed in the industry due to the crisis and "essential business" designation for your team at this time?

AW: Delivery is something that the equity community has been doing for years. We're veterans at it. We're not exactly new. I don't think that's going to be a problem, I do think it's leading into that.We dont know what's going to happen with the stores closing, or if it will be a new normal with social distancing. The delivery of cannabis is going to probably be one of the stronger businesses in this market.

LJS: I think were all for revising our business model, but I think there is a need for more high-level professionals in the space, thathave particular business acumen.I haventseen it entrusted to equity. Peoplelargely see equity as some of the lower or middle rung positions, and not as top partners, as the thought leaders.

As Angelahas said, equity people have been in the business for decades, forever, since the beginning of time, but their skills and talent on a managerial levelhave not been recognized. These companies would be wise to figure out how to diversify their leadership within their company and bring equity into that space. If they think theyre going to thrive in a real way. Not just as budtenders and delivery people, but as the real infrastructure of the company.

Which states or which markets have done well, given reasonable offerings, for social equity? What would you change in these markets? Are they offering enough incentive, financial aid, entrance for people of color or marginalized groups?

LJS: I am not speaking for Miss Angie, but I dont think theyre doing enough for equity at all. There are so many demands in the industry. As she said, they are speaking about the need for real estate, the criteria for getting the business going, the tax, the expectation. All the expectations, all the way around, do not lend well for equity. People who have been persecuted, marginalized, often do not have the connections or the networks that a legitimate business may, in order to make their enterprise thrive.

RELATED:The Unheard Voices of the Cannabis Social Equity Movement

Although there are criteria, you need to be of color, you need to have arrests on your record,I think they need to come up with someother criteria for identifying equity. I dont think enough is being done, municipalities support cannabis and don't have a problem taking cannabis tax revenue, but the money is not going back to the equity folks. Its an oxymoron. There are time limits on verifying equity, there are time limits onapplying for licenses and all types of stuff.

AW: Theyre starting to push for legislation to even put a moratorium, or to just close off the equity application process for newcomers. For me, for folks tohave been criminalized for this,lets be clear:some of these people who are equity applicants or part of the equity community are still locked up right now. There is an over-incarceration.We need to really demographically rewrite or reestablishsome of that criteria because often, a lot of the folks who are getting into the equity program, you know, theyre not coming mostly from the black and brown community.

Success Centers' Liz Jackson-Simpson, left, and Angela White, right. (Image credit: Jennifer Skog)

AW: Although I think its a great idea, it needs to be revamped and reconsidered as far as some of the writings of it. The people who have been the hardest hit by this are not being brought in or represented in the numbers that I think should be there.

LJS: Nor do they have the network or the resources in order to be able to thrive in this environment. It costs a quarter of a million dollars to just start a storefront or any kind of element of the business. When you've been persecuted, you're living in a poor community, you dont have that kind of money. Nor do you have access to those kinds of relationships with people who haveequity.

If youre bringing in people who are not from the hardest-hit community, of course, the investors will work with those people first because they look more like people they are accustomed to working with. The equity should focus on the ones who have been the hardest hit, who know the business from the illicit side, who are coming into the product side learning the new lingo, and building transferable skills. To me, these investors would be wise to work with equity. True equity.

A lot of that is why we created a model. To provide a platform for disparate groups to come together, to have anequity incubator, theknow-how to connect throughequity. Theres no space for that. They dont get a chance to go through the application process. There is no platform by which they can present or pitch their ideas to cannabis investors, equity, or industry investors. We're trying, through our Entrepreneurship In ANutshell curriculum, we are tryingto help them put together their ideas, and present them to folks who are willing and interested or need to connect through equity.

Everybody has to be be prepared, and then somebody, that middle person, needs to help to form those relationships and identify partners in the whole deal. There is no platform for it. No one is doing it, except through the program that Success Centers offers.

RELATED:A Social Equity Success Story in Oakland

Do you receive feedback from the partners and investors who work with entrepreneurs from your program?

AW: After the program's over, I always get these statements from employers and equity industry presents, 'You have such brilliant people who are coming in, asking me questions.' But theyre not given the opportunity otherwise if we're not in the space that we are, the way that we are providing this opportunity for the leveling of the playing field.

It removes the stigma away from our community:that were not smart enough, that were not good enough. Once they see, they understand that these folks aresmart enough, and probably better at certain leadership roles than them, because theyre not coming from a privileged space.

Angela White leading a past workshop at Success Centers. (Image credit: Success Centers)

If you could design the perfect social equity program for new cannabis-legal markets,what would you include?

LJS: I think Angela speaks to this a lot, this is the most regulated industry ever. We do not have the same types of regulations, laws, ordinances, overseeing, construction, nothingnot even agriculture has the same kind of nuances and expectations and laws and ordinances that govern it like the cannabis industry.

So Im hoping that some of those regulations can be relaxed forequity, that there are more opportunities for startups, loans, for the black and brown community to be able to enter. Im hoping that it becomes a mandate where, no matter how big or small the companies are, that they have to maintain a certain percentage of equity throughout their core. Not just a few tokens. And create a pathway for career development longterm. Those are some of the things that will help people. To build real wealth within the equity community, youve got to open the door and you've got tocreate an opportunity that is intentional.

AW: Staying trueto cannabis culture, because I think we are stepping far away from that.

A hopeful, larger, ideological question for each of you: Where do you see the cannabis industry in a decade?

LJS: I am really hoping thatwe look and really see, who have been the trailblazers here. I was just doing a report on the jobs that are going to be lost, after this next wave of recession, and the industries and where there is significant growth potential. The areas that we are going to lose a lot of folks are in the retail space,food services space, production space. All of those things can be automated. In the cannabis industry, historically, those are the only jobs really offered to folks in the black and brown communities.

I am thinking about field trips, and even looking at the agricultural space. Who is the one putting up the irrigation system? Who understands how to set up these grows, and who is developing allthe land?It's black and brown people. They know this business from seed to sale. Its just the wealthy landowners, going back to historical slave times, that are able to benefit.Not the people who continue to do the work, continue to have the expertise and the know-how. Who gets the credit? The folks who have the monetary means to perpetuate the business, not the folks who are actively doing the work.

These are the people who know every aspect of the business. They understand it and have been persecuted for it. I hope there is a recognition for that skill and that talent and that they will be rewarded for it. We want to be as optimistic as possible, but it's tough. History has shown these things do not necessarily work in our favor. We keep trying to demonstrate and accentuate where the innovation is coming from, where the ingenuity is coming from. We want to continue to herald that cause for the equity population.

AW: I see it thriving. But, if it goes the way it looks like right now, if it keeps on the same path, I think that equity will be excluded. Like we have in many other economies. And I often say that this may be the last frontier for a lot of us to get in on. And we deserve to be there. So, Im hopeful that people will.

RELATED:The Cannabis Industry Mourns Loss Of CBD Advocate Charlotte Figi

One thing that COVID thing is going to bring out, is more of the wealth disparity and how it's affecting the black and brown communities. We're dying at alarming rates. People are saying, they did not know. How could you not know? When folks have been screaming about it, the conditions weve been living under, for years and years. If we want to be a better industry, a better country, we need to make some serious changes when it comes to the people who have made major sacrificesfor this country and left behind and ignored.

At Entrepreneur, we love to ask: if you had one distilled piece of advice for cannabis entrepreneurs in the space, what would be it?

LJS: I would encourage people, entrepreneurs, to follow their dreams. And not to do this for the money. It never works. Your heart has got to be into it. It not about money. If your heart is in it, youre following your dreams, pursuing your dreams, the money will come. I would encourage folks to follow their dreams and continue to innovate.

AW: Where determination is, the way can be found. I dont want people to give up, because we're used to getting no's. No, as Liz always says, means not right now. Not right now. In this space, you dont have to just be a dispensary owner or a grower. There are so many different ancillary businesses. Or even being your own brand, even being an equity brand that gets in store shelves. You may have to sometimes start small, but that doesnt exclude you.

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How To Achieve True Equity In Cannabis - Q&A With Liz Jackson-Simpson and Angela White - Green Entrepreneur

Toddi Steelman, Stanback Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment

On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day celebrations took place at two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. The annual recognition now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.

While it may seem at times that we are in dire straits with the weather events and predictions of what the state of our natural world will be in the next 50 years, it is important to reflect on the positive aspects of what has changed in the past five decades.

The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day should be a time of reflection and commitment for us all. In recognizing this, I have called upon our faculty and staff to focus on three defining areas as we seek to have intentional impact with our science, our teaching and our outreach.

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2020: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day | Nicholas School of the Environment - Duke Today

A black Oldsmobile rolled up on 70th Street South in a Tacoma neighborhood. A middle-school-aged boy jumped out and approached what looked like an oversized birdhouse with a glass door, painted sky blue and rust.

His mom called out, asking what was inside. There wasnt a whole lot: a can of diced tomatoes, packets of instant oatmeal. She asked for the tomatoes they would be a welcome addition to the burritos she would make that evening.

These are the type of interactions that occur at Kelly and Kurt Nortons Little Free Pantry, a box on the corner where people in need can come and pick up grocery items like beans, oatmeal or fresh eggs from a neighbor with chickens down the street. It was a way for neighbors to help neighbors when things were tough.

The need has only increased as the coronavirus and associated lockdown has deprived people of income and made grocery stores dangerous for older people and those with underlying health conditions.

The Nortons set up the Little Free Pantry and a Little Free Library (where people can freely come to leave a book or take a book) about two years ago. The library came first, but Kelly Norton works in Tacomas Hilltop neighborhood. She kept seeing these little pantries when she went on a walk at lunchtime.

I got on the website and the only one in the area was in a bar, Kelly Norton said. That wasnt accessible enough for her, so she decided to add the pantry on the other end of her house. She and her husband chose the spot carefully it wasnt right in front of the house and there was space to park, so people could use it without feeling like they were being observed.

There has been some backlash from neighbors, recently amplified on various Facebook pages. They refer to the pantry as a bum feeder, among other unsavory things. Homeless people do use the pantry, but its mostly frequented by people like the little boy and his mother in the black Oldsmobile, families who need help to get by.

Theres not a lot we can do. This problem is bigger than us, Kelly Norton said. The pantry is being used to face our current situation.

The library and the pantry are named after the Ventures, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band whose founder, Don Wilson, grew up in the home where the Nortons and their bloodhound-mix Honey now reside.

Initially, the Nelsons were concerned that the decorative guitar picks might get stolen. They had a few extra doors for the pantry and library in their garage, just in case they had to replace it.

But that didnt happen.

The pantry and library arent completely without problems. Kids have come by a few times with acts of mischief, like dumping a jar of tomato sauce in the pantry. When that happened, Kelly Norton went out to talk to them and ask them for help cleaning up, which they did.

The pantry is meant to keep the community together, to support one another in times of need. People who frequent it also donate when their situations are better, stocking it with nonperishable goods, the Nortons said.

That is part of the goal of the project: bringing people together to try to combat larger societal problems, said Jessica McClard, founder of the Little Free Pantry movement.

Its a desire for reconnection to ones neighbors and an intentional creation of space for neighborliness at a time that we are less connected, McClard said.

McClard was inspired by the Little Free Library effort, much like the Nortons. It led her to think what else could happen in those small, wooden boxes.

I took the Little Free Library as a model and read about the experience of those stewards, McClard said. Even at that time, I saw there was some contention around those projects. It didnt really seem like the risk was enough to outweigh what could potentially be the good that could come from doing this.

That was four years ago. Now there are hundreds of little free pantries across the U.S., helping people out and bringing communities together.

Its been a positive experience, Kelly Norton said.

Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Ashley on Twitter@AshleyA_RC.

Read more in the Apr. 22-28, 2020 issue.

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Little Free Pantries have taken hold, to some neighbors' chagrin - Real Change News