April 2020

I hope you’re safe and well, and if struggling you’re part of a community of support that can hold you virtually—even in a time of physical separation. 

On Passover, in the midst of Holy Week, as Ramadan comes close, as the tulips defiantly emerge, there are reminders of hope, heroes and unlikely successes. There also is overwhelming evidence of this virus’s wily ability to leverage dithering and to exploit and expand economic, racial and social injustices as it moves through communities.

This is a moment surfacing our deep-seated, even primal needs for connection, safety, predictability and familiarity, purpose and influence, and core needs without danger or shame—key aspects of the set of needs and experiences essential for health and hope. Our wellbeing.

This is a moment where how much we expect systems to aid or impede our access to wellbeing—based on our race, past experience, gender, orientation, and other factors—becomes apparent, and the differences in our experiences are raw and ugly and important. 

And if you read Athisha King’s post, you’ll see why this is a moment when our country can and must come to center on people’s innate, shared drive for wellbeing. So there’s no pivot for FFI into this moment. There’s an acceleration and concentration of our efforts. Even as we charge forward, we remain resolute in centering on the experiences and needs and assets of those with the least access to wellbeing.

• We’re providing guidance and pushing systems to make sure the short-term changes they make to stem the crisis don’t create collateral damage, particularly when that damage would fall primarily on those who are already struggling. Indeed, we’re working with partners on structural changes that can be made now to have positive ripple effects in the long-term.

• We’re cranking out resources and tools to help people and systems adjust and make sense of this time of uncertainty and stress—from guidance for adjusting terms and conditions of release or child welfare cases, to promoting worker wellbeing—we’re responding to need and demand. A subset of these COVID-19 resources can be found on our website. 

• We’re ramping up new partnerships—exciting announcements coming soon. 

• We’re taking care of our people. 

There’s nothing inspirational about the horror of the moment. From the racial death disparities to the jaw-dropping unemployment numbers, this pain will be carried by many of us for years. Yet in a month where amidst the grief and fear, we see resilience in defiant signs of spring, our faith, or elsewhere, I invite your continued alliance in the messy, breathtaking, audacious work of collectively centering our pandemic reconstruction on ensuring that everyone has a fair shot at wellbeing. 

Because we need wellbeing to be well as a country.

Katya Fels Smyth

All across the country, organizations are creating, disseminating and compiling great resources for all of us to address COVID-19 within our unique contexts. Here a few resources you may find helpful:  
 

• Futures Without Violence has gathered a wealth of information on COVID-19 for survivors, communities and DV/SA programs.
• For communities and activists working to understand and respond to the moment, Racial Equity Tools provides a categorized list of COVID-19 racial equity and social justice resources.   
• On this episode of the Intersectionality Matters Podcast, Kimberle Crenshaw is joined by Ashton Applewhite and J.R. Fleming to discuss how ageism, and its varying intersections with race, class, ability, and gender, is materializing in the fight against COVID-19.

Found something helpful in your work and want to share with us? Please email Tanya Tucker, Chief of National Partnerships and Outreach at tanya@fullframeinitiative.org.