So many of us are utterly consumed with fear and our personal prospects for escaping the contagion of the Corona virus. As we stoke our own anxieties, while we shelter in place, there is precious little else to occupy our thoughts except when this will all be over, and when can we return to some sense of normalcy. It’s human nature I suppose, but these musings will make the leap from self absorption to people in our society who are strangers in more ways than one to us. They live and work among us. Many are integral to our survival; they feed us. Others make our lives comfortable; they clean our houses and cut our lawns. Many are educated and round out the roster of employees in the tech trades. They nurse us back to health. They convey us from here to there. They populate the labs that search for cures to all manner of ailments with which we are afflicted. We may not speak their language, and they may struggle with ours. The cultural differences are myriad. The one point of commonality is that they all came here legally or illegally seeking a better life for themselves and their families. For some this has meant an undefined and indefinite incarceration. The people I speak of are immigrants, and they make this nation what it is. I wish to address the needs of a smaller cohort within the larger whole.I wish to make the invisible visible. I wish to acquaint you with the trepidations of those who do the work that most of us will not. I speak out for those whose voices remain muted in an implacable silence for fear of government retribution. I speak to you of those who toil in the open fields and below a sun that offers no respite. Our farmworkers require the same protections that all other essential workers do and more because the accommodations they are offered where they work don’t meet spatial requirements in this age of Corona. Overcrowded housing, cramped transportation, unsanitary working conditions, and cyclical poverty make the Presidents’ Task Force’s recommendations for social distancing, quarantining and/or isolation impossible.This is May, one month into the beginning of a new planting season. Consider what a sustained outbreak of Corona virus might mean to the farmworker’s ability to complete the work for which they were hired. Then extrapolate out to include the central valleys of California, the meat packing plants of the Midwest. Unabated, we are looking at a break in the food supply chain. I can’t minimize the risk because we already have reported outbreaks. Pork producing plants have been shut down. The current situation cries out for an immediate and proportionate response to the threat. Most of us are living in the moment, not looking down the road, or watching the storm clouds gather on the horizon. Will the search for food be an added caveat to the Darkest Winter?For the moment, let’s take a look at specific vulnerabilities of our farmworkers and recent detainees from the southern US border. With few exceptions they originate from many of the same countries, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The social determinants of health often provide a rationale for increased susceptibilities to disease processes. Economic stability or poverty is first among them. The rest follow in the wake. If you are poor, your are less likely to be educated. Your access to health care is restricted by what you can afford to pay. Your community and neighborhood may be unsafe and prone to gang violence because of a dearth of job opportunities. In any case, these are a few reasons people flee. Most immigrants expect to support themselves by working when they arrive at their destination. Our farmworkers work at or below minimum wage, and consequently subsist at or below the established US poverty level. So please Mr. President don’t promote a bill to lower their pay. Farmworkers provide and invaluable service that has, until recently, been taken for granted.Therefore, what immediate steps might we take to ensure the continuity of the lives of those who are so integral to our food supply. Recent reports confirm that screening and testing in our rural agricultural sector are practically nonexistent. We must move quickly to mobilize the supplies, personal protective gear and tests to this underserved area. Farm operators must strategize as to how social distancing may be implemented in the fields and in transportation vehicles. Housing presents another logistical quandary, for which there is no one size fits all solution that will apply in every setting. If all this sounds redundant, it is purposely so. I write to reiterate and lend credence to what should now be obvious and clear. What seems most advantageous is to get ahead of the contagion in order to short circuit what is sure to be an inevitable, widespread, hugely impactful, catastrophic outcome. Clearly the policies we put in place now may slow the spread of Covid 19, and ensure a continuous pool of workers to the agricultural sector. Releasing more detainees with families in the US will free up space in our overcrowded detention centers. The few that have been released are not nearly enough to make a critical difference. Provide the water and hygiene items that reports say are being denied or woefully insufficient. Educate, test, and treat our detainees who are losing hope and are afraid. Our essential farmworkers and detainees are not sacrificial lambs on the altar of bias and neglect.Now is the time for prudent policy that exemplifies preparation, strategic thinking, and shows vision and compassion. Waiting to see what happens could mean rioting in the streets, Marshall Law, empty shelves, not just from the absence of toilet paper, but bread, meat, and produce. Most precious of all to us would be the unfathomable toll in human life. That is the statistic that cuts to the core of all our precautions, policy schemes, and the weight of what we do now placed upon our hearts and souls.

Since the coronavirus has started my son has been going to his grandma‘s house Monday through Friday. The amount of work he gets from school at 6 to 8 hours my husband and I don’t see him until the weekend. And my son was OK with it at first but now he goes into the bathroom at his grandmothers house and cries he doesn’t want to be separated from his family and he’s literally shipped out of his house all week our family unit has been divided as I work full-time and his dad works full-time and neither of us can function as the school teacher 6 to 8 hours a day My son cries he wants to come home all the time his grandma is retired and able to do the work with him this pandemic is also putting her out of her regular routine it’s affecting all of us My son Is seven and is forced to leave his own house.We just found out that his school May not be open next either

I rely on inspirational quotes to get me through uncertain times. When I feel like I am having a weak moment, I will read my collection of quotes out loud as they offer easily accessible truth, insight, and perspective.Small scraps of paper and post-it notes can be found throughout my home, a small and worthy collection you might say. Here are a few that I would like to share with you.Do not allow the future to trouble your mind – Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180)Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but never gets you anyway – Erma BombeckThis too shall pass – Rumi

Hello there. I am a recently divorced Mother of three beautiful Daughters. I have been a long time business owner in the county of Palm Beach. I am at my wits end. Due to COVID19 The Beauty Lounge that’s my business is inside of was temporarily closed. That was my only income. I do not receive child support or any other help financially. Furthermore, As of this evening I have not received my stimulus check, have not received any type of Covid unemployment although applying numerous times. Although my business is allowed to re-open this week I am an aesthetician and my business will be forever changed. The reopening of my business Will be incredibly slow in order for me to keep everybody including myself my family and my clients safe and healthy. Even with the re-opening I cannot possibly catch up on all the income I have lost. My bills are overflowing . I have had no income since the first week of March. I have kept on top of what I could from the little bit of money I had but have not been able to pay the rent of my home in three months going on a fourth and face evection.I have reached out for help and applied for any and every sort of “relief” that I could. I am writing this story to reach out. I cannot sleep at night wondering if we will be out on the street soon. I love my county and I know there has got to be answers or help for us somewhere. Thank you for reading. ~Mikaela

My son who normally goes back and forth between our house and his moms house isn’t around and it’s tough on me and his little brother and sister. His step dad still works in construction and both houses agreed it was best not to take any chances right now.

May,20202020 had begun so happily as all New Year’s do! A two week visit with our daughter and one year old granddaughter had been a joy! February birthday celebrations , Valentine love and of course intense Black History remembrances! Whispers of a deadly virus in China had caught my attention from the MSNBC news coverage since mid January. But that was somewhere else for someone else to be concerned with. In passing, I asked my daughter to be careful going through the airports from Md. on February 2 with my granddaughter because of a new virus outbreak amongst travelers.As a hemodialysis patient on treatment 3x weekly for the last eleven years, I am always mindful of my health. Along with kidney failure, there are several other co- morbidities to consider as well. Patients started getting educational handouts about the CORONA (COVID-19)virus. Look for fever,sore throats,shortness of breath and coughing. Although you might have these symptoms you could also be fine, asymptomatic, but still able to pass it on to others.!The virus seemed to be an invisible foe hanging in the air, living on surfaces and who knew what else. Even though I seemed to be in the high risk category, (over 60 with other underlying health issues) you put your faith in God and go on. It all seemed possible. Life seemed “do-able” as it had always been. BUT it all changed starting on March 11 when the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed the novel (COVID-19) Corona Viral Infectious Disease 2019 was a Pandemic. On March 12, all dialysis patients were required to wear facial masks and complete a screening inventory sheet before entering the building. Temperature checks normally done at the treatment chair were now done at the door. Anyone with a temperature of 100 or more would be turned away.It was uncomfortable to wear the masks for the four hour duration of treatment but after two months, it seems like a part of getting dressed. It wasn’t long before people wore masks and gloves to pick up groceries with sanitized wipes at the ready.Everything started moving so fast. People started forecasting that the virus was spreading quickly and the government was going to shut us down and shut us in. Everyone started panicking going into the retail stores to get sanitizers,cleaning solutions,toilet paper, paper towels and food!Delray’s lockdown began on March 30 (curfew in the city was from 9p-6a…later changed to midnight – 6a) to end April 16 and statewide onApril 2-May 2.The mandated shut in orders or lock down seemed extreme but did seem to help stem the tide of virus cases and not overwhelm hospitals with the sick. Hospitals nationwide suffered from a shortage of personal protection equipment and ventilators for COVID patients.Testing for the virus had a slow start here. The first Palm Beach County testing site launched on March 31.The federal government issued social distancing orders (6 feet minimum between you and someone else) and no gatherings of ten (10) or more. This mandate closed bars,restaurants and churches!On April 23rd our 45th President, Donald J. Trump, wondered out loud to the nation if ingesting Lysol or Clorox bleach could kill the corona virus internally or using ultraviolent rays internally to kill the virus!Our state government, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, seemed slow to react to this pandemic. It seemed to the observer as if the revenue the state expected from Spring Break visitors,golfers and beachgoers mattered more than keeping Floridians safe. Our state was among the last to lock down and among the first to talk about re-opening. The Miami Herald is on the governor now about the misleading COVID-19 death reports (especially from long term care facilities) to make things appear more “rosy” than is true.As I write this over 83,000+ Americans have died. Each of those 83,000+ were individuals with stories just like mine. Those of us who live now wear masks,others choose not to. Some are still choosing to stay at home while others could not wait to get outside. People have been willing to stop and speak (at a distance)and are more willing to lend a hand. They tell us to brace for a 2nd or 3rd wave of the virus soon.A workable vaccine may be 12-18 months away.Over 30,000 Americans are unemployed because of the virus. There is food insecurity for some. Children are all home schooled, church is carried out online and no one knows when or if this situation will change.Florida has over 41,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 1700 dead (as of 5.12) only God can help us!Many more hurdles ahead…