The days are just not the same. You think you have time to do it all but when something like this hits, you wonder what have I been doing with my time. The Corona Virus has impacted me in ways that are simple but yet so meaningful at this time. The little things that I take for granted like going to the grocery store or dropping by to get a bite to eat is now obsolete. Social distancing from my family and friends have been the worst. I can’t even see my mom like I want right now for the fear of her getting sick. She has cancer and things have been put on hold for her now due to the epidemic. I am a person that likes to visit me elderly people and I can’t at the moment. Just walking out the door now I am so much more cautious. My neighbor across the street from me would usually come in the yard and now we’re talking at the edge of the driveways. My little cousins that I see day to day, I can’t anymore because I’m trying to keep my distance and follow the rules. My heart goes out to the elderly that don’t have anyone to check on them and the homeless. I want to help my community out so much but at the risk of becoming sick is so scary. I have learned that the things we take for granted should be the ones that we cherish the most because at anytime they can be stripped from us without warning. I miss the kids that I work with as well, all of them, good, challenged and some a little defiant but what I would do to have conversation with them now.
Community: Boynton Beach
No Man Is an Island
I am an eighty two old diabetic that lives with my sister and brother in law. I am totally blind and suffer from extreme nephropathy and have difficulty with mobility. I have limited socialization and look forward to the socialization through attending church and the monthly senior activity sponsored by the Community Caring Center. The Stay at Home order has made it more difficult to have the socialization that is needed for elderly people.
Quarantine Chronicles: More Isolated & Domesticated Than Ever
I’ve been practicing social distancing and working from home for 3 weeks, and it’s been a tricky transition. My husband still leaves the house to work every weekday, so I’ve become responsible for our young daughter’s distance learning. I’m struggling to find a rhythm for working from home, giving my daughter and husband the attention they need, and doing more cooking and cleaning than I usually do. I’ve never been this domestic! And I haven’t yet figured out a way to carve out time and space to take care of myself personally. It’s a strange place to be…feeling both more isolated than ever (cut off from regular interactions with family, friends, coworkers, and strangers that I’d see in public), but also never alone (because I’m constantly with my daughter, and often my husband). I feel very fortunate, but not quite like myself right now.
Learning How to Live Again
Th C-virus has impacted my life. It requires us to stay home. No school, no church outings, so social events, community service initiatives have been postponed or cancelled. Although our lives have not come to a halt it has definitely come to a stand still. We now have to be more vigilant with things we should do to reduce the sped of the C-virus. Our community need to be prayerful and obedient and follow the rules for survival. Try to help one another. Keep an eye on our children and our senior community. This crisis in our lives right now will pass.
LOOKING FOR LIGHT
Hi my name is Darryl Sanders Jr. I am a freelance videographer/photography. I was firstly affected by the closing of venues due to the Corona Virus Outbreak which caused clients to cancel their events therefore forcing me to lose deposits from previously booked event. It has also effected my bookings because no one can have social gatherings for months ahead so i have no source of income to pay my bills at this time. Its also been hard finding groceries and proper sanitation products to keep my environment clean. Also my kids schooling has been effected been effected and i dont feel i could teach them at home as well as they would learn in a class setting. We are just looking forward to all of this getting behind of and going back to our daily lives without fear of leaving our home and contracting a deadly illness.
To be human together
Ive been impacted by anxiety since childhood. When I was young, I felt a lot of shame about not being able to tell my brain to stop worrying (as well meaning adults suggested). When my two older children were in their early teens, they were both diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition that runs in both sides of my family. Although I had already worked on my anxiety in therapy, my childrens diagnoses motivated me to deepen my research, and do whatever I could to learn to manage my mental health and theirs. When their doctor wrote mindfulness meditation on a prescription pad and suggested it for all of us, I took it to heart. My children and I became vocal mental health advocates, and I trained in trauma-informed yoga and meditation to help others learn a skill which had helped me and my children. I went to work for non-profits focused on mental health and trauma, both as a yoga/meditation teacher and a mental health peer specialist. When people ask me what I do for work, I summarize it by saying I help both adults and children with big feelings by sharing my own experiences and tools that have helped me. Now with COVID-19, I cant interact with the people I serve face to face. Individual meetings have been replaced with phone calls. Classes have been replaced with YouTube videos and live video-conferencing. I am adapting everyday, as are the people I serve. It isnt easy, but Ive noticed a resilience coming to the surface. Ive noticed that skills that Ive developed over many years to manage my general anxiety (and trauma) are also helping me to manage this situational anxiety. I see the same in my children, my friends who identify as being in recovery from mental health conditions, and in many of the people I serve. It isnt universal. Others are really struggling. Seniors in isolation share their fears with me, and they are real and heavy. We practice breathing and grounding together (which is different on the phone but not impossible). We talk about gratitude and hope. We do what we did before, which was to be vulnerable, to sit with big feelings, empathize and acknowledge suffering. To be human together.
10 (Story #64)
The coronavirus have infected my life a lot I am very depressed I do the crossing guard for the school and I’m not getting paid and only the teachers getting paid they say we going to go by April 15th but that’s no guarantee because I’m I got a very good feeling it’s only a month left for school to May 30th so they probably not going to even go back I don’t know how I’m going to pay my next bill I don’t know what the next time you coming from because most of the crossing guards get pensions and they get Social Security Im only 60 so I don’t get my Social Security yet so my little cross and got money is the only little money that I have to depend on how I take care of my grandson with mental problems he’s a challenge to so I’m trying to keep his spirits up why is he out of school and I’m trying to do the best that I could not knowing what a next dime coming from but it’s very hard to smile when you got all these bills coming from week to week and you don’t know where the next time it’s coming from and I rate my story a 10
1 (Story #62)
This virus has impacted my life because my 84 year old Mother is unable to receive her continuum of care after fracturing her hip on December 25,2020. Her care has been interrupted due to her not being able to continue the care of physical,occupational and home health care.My Mom was scheduled to continue her therapies at a rehabilitation facility . However, due to the virus the facility has closed its doors.
No Income
My job has cut down hours and I went from working an average 35 hours payroll to only 6 to 10.
#Corona kills jobs
The coronavirus has greatly affected me in my job. I work in a fast food restaurant Mcdonalds and the side effect of corona is customers are no longer coming to purchase food. So therefore my hours were cut short.5 to 2 days and I still get sent home because of few customers