Each month, we pose a question to the OneLISC family, and share the responses reflecting our diverse range of voices and backgrounds. We hope these Reflections from the Field will be a source of inspiration and insight for us all. This month's question is:
As some school districts reopen, while others discuss how to do so, and we head into month six of the Covid-19 pandemic, how do you think employers, government and other entities can best support the people who serve as anchors in their families and communities? What has your experience been as a caretaker, or as a witness to their experiences, during this time?
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Care for Kids during Covid-19—in Haiku
March
School’s out for spring break
Much needed winter respite
Wait, not going back?
Shifting to homebound
Quasi-school and work for all
This will be fun, right?
April
Home with young people
Both kind of bored and naggy
“Please hush, I’m working!”
Feeling stuck at home
Pandemic raging, can’t leave
Need to buy groceries.
May
New dog found to help
Keep our spirits lifted, and
Idle kids amused.
Dog videobombs
Perpetually barking
Forced behind a screen.
June
Summer starts again
“Physical distancing stinks!”
Kids still can’t go play
Tired of dog leash
Phoebe needs to run, again
“Can I see my friends?”
July
Weather is lovely
Inside working is not great
Wishing for respite
August
School starts in one month
Too many options to bear
All the choices suck
Must go shop for clothes
The teen needs waist up fashions
For Fall bedroom school
- Sonja Dean, Senior Program Officer, LISC Michigan Statewide
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The world is currently full of anxiety, uncertainty and fear. As Caregivers we are conditioned to deal with unexpected circumstances. I serve as caregiver for my young son, disabled husband and aging mother. Medical emergencies are routine in my life. When these situations arise, the armor goes on and I deal with the task at hand devoid of emotion. The pandemic has disarmed me in that only patients can enter the hospital and I must take a step back. This pause in my normal routine has forced me to stop and acknowledge whatever feelings I am having in the moment. I have come to realize that being a caregiver takes courage and courage demands vulnerability, which isn’t easy for me. This pandemic is teaching me I need to acknowledge my fears and to own and acknowledge my feelings. Even though this new process may be scary on the surface I think it will be beneficial in many areas of my life.
- Davina Bergin, SVP-Chief Development Officer, immito
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It’s more of a dance than a juggle - a slow, tripping waltz. The routines of family life more confined, closer to home than they once were. A two-year-old and seven-year-old, we’re living the saying “the days are long, but the years are short” in a fractured covid-sense of time.
Cancelled travels. Three birthdays passed in quiet celebration, one more on the way. One dog lost with unexpected illness, two chickens soon followed.
There are blessings in the chaos: no more “firsts” to be missed, because now we see everything. Our youngest a constant stream of song, loud and bubbling with the unbridled joy that comes with her age. Instead of only painting alone after bedtime, we all paint together. Meals as a family.
I stepped into this position to focus in on my values - never did I anticipate that would manifest in this way.
- Jamie Schumacher, Assistant Program Officer, LISC Creative Placemaking & Lending
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Now more than ever, we need structural reform and policies put in place at the workplace and from the government. COVID-19 has only brought to light for all working parents what a broken system we have. Working parents need better and more affordable health care and child care. In the workplace, we need more than flexibility. Caregiving doesn't conveniently fall outside of traditional working hours and, at present, the emotional toll for parents having to make high-stakes choices about the physical and mental wellbeing of their child(ren) is suffocating.
- Anonymous
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Love in the Time of COVID*
“Porque é que vocês estâo de mascara e acampando no quintal? Cade meu cheiro? Nâo quer entrar e ver minhas flores?” —Mainha
“Why are you wearing masks and camping in the yard? Where’s my hug? Don’t you want to come in and see my flowers?” —Mom
“Como é que você fala pra sua Mâe Brasileira, que sofre de Alzheimers, que voce nâo pode abracá-la porque voce está tentando proteger a sua esposa, que tem Sclerósis, da COVID?” —Tedinho
“How do you tell your Brazilian Mom, who is suffering from early Alzheimers, that you can’t hug her because you are trying to keep your immuno-compromised wife, who has Multiple Sclerosis, safe from COVID?” —Tedd
*Reference to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ novel El amor en los tiempos del cólera.
- Tedd Grain, Executive Director, LISC Indianapolis
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As a mother of a child with special needs (nonverbal and autistic), my support system (family, daycare provider, teacher, speech and occupational therapists) enabled me to work without worrying about whether or not his needs were being met. Physical distancing requirements essentially took away my support system. Now, I worry all the time….Am I doing enough? Will the gains that he made be erased? How is this isolation impacting him emotionally and psychologically?
Since this may be our new reality for the unforeseeable future (our school district decided that classes will be virtual at least until Feb 2020), the workplace will have to adapt to the needs of caregivers and working parents. Before COVID, most working parents were forced to prioritize the needs of the employer. That meant long commutes into the office, when the employee could have worked from home and been just as productive. That meant working within the 9 to 5 schedule, when alternate hours could have been better for the parent’s schedule. That meant giving your all to your employer within those eight hours with the expectation that you wouldn’t be interrupted by life outside of the office.
COVID is causing people to reconsider what it means to be productive. Now, many companies around the country and the world have been forced to come to terms with the fact that employees can be trusted to work from home. We can, in fact, communicate regularly with our supervisors and colleagues, meet deadlines, and care for our loved ones, when needed. It’s difficult, but it’s doable. Similarly, the notion of what it means to be “professional” has been turned on its head. With daycares and schools being closed, the needs of the parents must be centered. No longer is it “unprofessional” to not have childcare lined up, to have a child appear in a Zoom call, or to have to put a caller on hold to attend to one’s child. Parenting should have never been seen as an unprofessional nuisance of some sort.
Working around the needs of our children should be normalized. This may mean needing to get our work done in the wee hours of the morning or the late evenings. And, that should be okay. This may mean carving out blocks of time on our calendars to spend with our children during the 9-5 hours. And, that should be okay. This may mean telling a partner, client, or funder, that we’re unable to turn something around in 24 hours. And, that should be okay. As we give grace to others during this triple pandemic (COVID, racial terror, and recession), we must also give it to ourselves.
- Adiyah Ali, Development Officer, LISC
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Past Reflections:
How Do You Experience Public Space?
What Does Juneteenth Mean to You?