Well to be honest I thought it was a joke and didnt take it to serious. But as the time has gone by it has become a very serious. I myself have be impacted by have to now teach at home, as well as have my second job pretty much cutting hours reducing income into my home.
Concern: Employment
100 Days of Solitude
I wonder how much unlimited data on my phone plan really means. Ever since the beginning of this self-isolation era, I’m sure people have turned to their phones and their home wi-fi to ride this wave of corona virus-related news. I know everyone must be watching their Netflix, having Zoom conferences, virtual classes and virtual happy hours, and calling their people to ask them what they’re doing for the umpteenth time that day. As for me, I didn’t realize until now how crucial my phone has become to staying connected and keeping sane in a moment where staying home is the most responsible thing we can do. I wonder how many people are the same way and if the internet overlords can keep this going for us. Can you imagine if those networks fell? Do we whip out our typewriters and feather quills? Do we start to create to our Hulu comedy specials during dinner time? Worse, how long before people living by themselves start feeling the anxiety caused by confinement? I say we use ham radios again or even cans on very large lengths of strings moving forward. Solutions are endless, I’m sure.It’s a deep rabbit hole to follow when we think about how we became so dependent on the internet. It’s truly a blessing and a curse. While there are so many things going on right now, it’s important to stay optimistic and responsive to our community. So, thank you to all the technicians out there doing what they do and thank you to the invisible cable in the sky for carrying our memes, love letters, funny cat videos, and the smiles our loved people across the way for us.
Starving
I live on a limited income. I ran out of food yesterday after going five days of eating only one meal. I have no money or food stamps. I have no car. The bus is my only transportation. I am considered high risk due to underlying health problems. I have no mask or gloves. I am terrified of going out unprotected. Many of the food pantries have closed or I cannot get to them or there are specific instructions on accessing them which I cannot meet. Example: This link came with a notice of a food pantry that will be open today. You have to have a car, you pull up in line, you cannot get out of your car, when your turn arrives you either open your passenger side window or automatically open your trunk, the food will be handed to you or placed in your trunk, then you drive off. Like I said before, I have no car. I have no family or friends who can help me…
#togetherwecandividedwefall
My 92 year old father lives with me full time. His daily routine includes exercising in our community pool at the building where we reside. Unfortunately, there are people coming down to Florida on vacation to escape the pandemic up north or for what reason, I am not sure. But what they are failing to realize is they are putting our elderly and compromised at risk. They are not self quarantined. I have been quarantined for several weeks as I have a responsibility to my father and to the other compromised individuals who live in my building to keep them safe. Together we can, divided we fall. It’s disheartening that people are not learning that right now. Secondly, how important is food security right now? How important is it to teach people to grow their own food at their homes right now and if they don’t have a place to grow food, having a community garden where they can get fresh produce and fruit. How important is it to be able to feed people fresh produce from an accessible green space? It is relevant now, more than ever. Now is the time to provide people who are at home with the knowledge and supplies to be able to grow their own food and if they don’t have a home to grow their food, providing a space where they can grow their own food and learn from those who can teach them! Losing resources at any time is difficult but now, when people do need access to fresh produce and tools to help them manage their stress, it is incredibly difficult. And for me, personally, I am three classes away from completing the Mindfulness Training Course and without the tools provided to me through this class, I am not sure how I would be able to manage my own stress and be able to keep my father safe and our staff feeling secure. I am personally grateful for the knowledge our educators provide and am hopeful that we will reach more people and spread this knowledge that does feel so relevant and important during this crisis.
Unemployment shortfalls…
At Macy’s i work on commission… And everyday i must cover my $9.00 an hour draw.. 7 hrs ×9 equals $63 a day that Macys is paying us right now.. I’m one of the lucky ones… That’s $315 minus taxes, fico, and s.s.(at 25 %) equals $227.25 a week… I cannot pay rent food, auto loan, insurance, gas (taking care of mom in Boynton) ,dentist loan, electric, capital 1(when times are tough) and going out( to support our local economy.. Take out etc..)… Made $32,000 in taxable income 1918.. Devided by 50 weeks is $640 per week… Minus taxes etc. Equals $480 after taxes..so there’s a shortfall of $252.75 or approximately $1008 amonth.. Will unemployment insurance cover any of this?
Family Forst
My boyfriend just moved to Florida and was excited to find a job. But cant find any openings. My sister works as a waitress. She lost her job as they closed. I am very fortunate to still have a job and am fortunate I can help them through this time, whether that is buying fresh veggies or paying for rent this month.
Bryant Park W.P.B.
I live in downtown Lake Worth Beach… I’M SINGLE..SENIOR CITIZEN..AND GENERALLY A VERY POSITIVE PERSON…TAKE CARE OF MY MOM IN BOYNTON WHO’S 92.. LOVE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND LOVE MY LAKE WORTHS BEACHSIDE COMMUNITY… MONEY’S STRESSFUL RIGHT NOW FOR MOST PEOPLE..AS IS THE FEAR OF CONTAMINATION… WE ARE NEAR THE BEACH (JUST A BRIDGE) BUT AREN’T ALOUD TO GO THERE.. I’M A SINGLE SENIOR LIVING ON NOW VERY DIMINISHED RESOURCES OF MONEY..WITH LOANS TAXES ELECTRIC ETC. IN A ONE BEDROOM RENTAL OF ONLY 450 SQ.FT. …I’VE SEEN EVERY MOVIE I OWN .. READ ALOT..FB ALOT.. COOK, CLEAN,FOOD SHOP, WALK OUR EMPTY TOWN..WHICH IS ALL SHUT DOWN EXCEPT FOR TAKE OUT FOOD WHICH I CAN NO LONGER AFFORD..AND HUMAN CONTACTS ARE RARE EXCEPT FOR SOME WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN SOCIAL DISTANCING… SO BASICALLY I ,FRIENDS , AND LOVED ONES BASICALLY ARE GETTING VERY BORED, EMOTIONLESS, SCARED, WORRIED AND GETTING NUMB… HOWEVER NOW THEY’VE ALSO SHUT DOWN A QUAINT AND LOVELY PARK ON THE INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY… BECAUSE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING… AND IT ANGERS ME THAT THIS ONCE VIBRANT AND QUIRKY TOWN IS NOT ALLOWING THE USE OF THE PARK BECAUSE SOME DON’T FOLLOW THE RULES… IN OTHER WORDS WE’RE ALL SUFFERING LONELINESS AND DEPRESSION FOR THE FEW BREAKING THE RULES… SUGGESTION: HOW LITTLE WILL IT COST TO HAVE VOLUNTEERED POLICING TO MAKE SURE SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES ARE FOLLOWED WITH BACK UP OF CALLING POLICE IF THE NEED ARISES? OR BETTER YET HAVE ONE OFFICER IN A PATROL CAR AT OR NEARBY THE PARK JUST TILL SUNDOWN… OR EVEN BETTER LET THE RESTAURANTS STAY OPEN WITH A 10 FT LIMIT BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND STAFF STRICTLY ENFORCED BY OUR WONDERFUL AND CARING L.W.B. POLICE DEPT.. RULEBREAKERS.. GET SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY…NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS… TOMORROW THEY WILL KNOW THE SERIOUSNESS OF THEIR ACTIONS.. ESPECIALLY IF EVERYONE HAD TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY… SOME NOT PAYING THEIR BILLS… WHAT SAY YOU? WHY ARE THE RULE FOLLOWERS ALWAYS GETTING THE SHORT END OF THE STICK? WHICH CREATES MORE ANGER… AND LONELINESS…DEPRESSION… I’VE SEEN IT ALL OVER EVEN IN OUR CITY HALL.. IT’S THE FEELING OF POWERLESSNESS.. NOT THE AGENDA THAT MAKES US WANT TO FIGHT , REBEL, AND USE LAUGUAGE TO DEBASE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING… IT’S DEPRESSION , LONELINESS, FEAR AND NOT BEING LOVED AND NOT BEING ABLE TO SHOW AND RECIPROCATE THAT LOVE BACK TO OUR LITTLE DOWNTOWN IN Lake Worth Beach… What say you… Please share… It might be tour last time to share….
Waiting on a Change
My family and I have been affected in a few ways. First, I lost my job with first transit( Trolly) second, my car broke down and it was our only means of transportation. 3rd my son (17) suffers with mental health issues and wasn’t able to get his 30 day meds, instead they gave him 15. Now we are waiting on a appointment so he’ll be able to get the rest of his meds, and as you know no one is taking clients. We both suffer from anxiety, and he also suffers with severe depression. Inspite of EVERYTHING that is going on,we are trusting God to see us through.
Living in Ongoing Emergency Roll
My job tasks have changed, putting aside usual management tasks. I am completely focused on helping keep our programs operational and filling in where needed. I try to keep up to date on changes and new services to share with staff.
A New Reality: The Journey of a Second Grade Teacher Through the Pandemic
Hi. I’ll start at the beginning. I’m a elementary school teacher. A little more than two weeks ago I started to feel bad. Like I had the flu times 10. I wasn’t surprised because my children have been sick for over 3 weeks with the same symptoms as we’re talking about now. One I sent to the nurse had a high fever, wheezing, could barely stand up. He went home, and went to the hospital where they kept him overnight. He was out the next two days, then back in school, still sick. So, I started to have the same symptoms, minus the fever. Since then I’ve seen two doctors, two different rounds of antibiotics and no effect. I tested negative for the flu. Last Sunday I felt so bad, extremely weak, like I could barely walk. At the suggestion of the health department, I went to the hospital. My goal was to get tested. They quickly informed me that they had no testing kits and that no hospital in Palm Beach County had testing kits and that they didn’t even know of a drive thru place and that I probably wouldn’t be tested anyway because I’m not over 65 and have no underlying health conditions. They drew blood, took a chest xray, and told me I was basically healthy. I said, If I’m so healthy, why do I feel like crap? They said, Well, you probably have some kind of virus. They gave me a bag of IV fluids and after a while sent me on my way. They told me to come back if I started to turn blue. Yes, they really said that because those are the patients they are seeing now. Scary. Since Sunday, I’ve slowly started to feel better. Until last night. It’s like a wave. I am completely congested, coughing again, (dry cough) back pain like a knife, extremely tired, etc…. While this is all going on, I’ve had to order a new laptop because my current one isn’t up to par with what the school district is expecting us to accomplish. I’ve been watching countless live and recorded seminars on creating virtual classrooms, setting up links to assignments, hosting virtual meetings, participating in virtual meetings sometimes 2-3 day with my fellow teachers, calling, emailing and messaging my parents and students, trying to get them into my Google classroom. It’s exhausting. I’ve been on the computer until 11 every night looking at what my students are doing now, creating reading and math lessons for them, and learning a new format I didn’t expect to do, at least right now. But, I think we will all be a lot better at tech when this is all over. So, I’m grateful for that. I don’t want to sound like I’m whining. My brother-in-law got laid off this week from a job he’d been at for 20 years. There are people a lot worse off. I saw it when I was in the emergency room myself. I am grateful to still have my job, still be able to communicate with my friends and family, and still be able to hug my dog. Even though I’ve been completely isolated for over two weeks now and counting, it could be worse. Thank you for reading my story…..