The Purple Hands administrative team had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing members of the Goodwill Circles group to discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on their day-to-day lives. Goodwill Circles is a mentorship initiative, comprised of dedicated community members working to overcome barriers in their respective lives through forming networks with others in similar positions, while accessing resources for personal and career growth. The program aims to tear down the stigmatized perspectives of poverty and focuses on collaborative, personal relationships to empower marginalized individuals in self-growth.
As many cities are slowly transitioning out of the quarantine period and adjusting back to some form of normality, it’s important to reflect and assess what we’ve learned throughout this time. Our objective of conducting this interview was to obtain an inclusive perspective of the pandemic, that includes the voices of those in our communities that are seldom heard. Capturing these opinions are important in shaping our own view of the situation and allowing us to check our privilege.
Our biggest takeaway from the interview was the clear disparate impact inflicted on many in our society. COVID-19 does not discriminate and affects each person equally; however, the resources available to us and the additional stressors we have to deal with vary widely between each person. The members of the Circles group centered on topics like the undervalued roles of workers behind the scenes (truckers, factory workers), the realignment of personal priorities: family and health over self-indulgences, and the necessities for compassion within our communities—especially between the social classes. Something we can all relate to is the fact that the pandemic has thickened the divide between needs and wants, and in the process has revealed to us what really matters and the things we can live without.
Although there has been many negatives, the insights we’ve gained from these difficult times have been a remarkable positive that has come at no better time.