Canal Alliance in Crisis Mode
Canal Alliance seems to be fully in a mindset of damage control, which I think is necessary right now. Throughout the interview with Melissa, I was getting the sense that right now, more than any other time, is important. We all feel like the rug has been pulled out from us, but, for people who never had much of a rug to stand on in the first place, the experience is only intensified. Planning for the future, when we don’t know what the future is, comes second to acting now, and Melissa understands that. I feel that Canal Alliance’s response to this pandemic demonstrates how they are led by the community, taking the lead based on what the community needs most.
Melissa spoke about how the first thing they did when the stay-at-home order hit was call all their students, asking them if they’ve lost work, if they’ve lost wages, if they need food. They were able to, then, use that information to assess what their priorities are for this time, and apply for a grant to start fulfilling those needs.
One of the ways they’re addressing the most pressing needs of the community is through the food pantry they’ve set up. The food pantry is a way to slightly help relieve residents’ food needs, and also to educate people on what Coronavirus and social distancing are. Melissa mentioned how a lot of their students have really religious backgrounds, which is often a barrier to getting honest information about this virus. But, unfortunately the food pantry is way impacted — lines were around the block and they ran out of food, she said, an hour and a half after they started.
Unemployment is a major concern right now. (And “major” is an understatement. Perhaps I should’ve even said “primary concern,” because for many who are already under the poverty line and living month-to-month, unemployment is more of a threat than the virus.) Most of the students were laid off right in the beginning of shelter-in-place, and those who weren’t have been laid off by now. Canal Alliance is helping people file for unemployment, and has been providing emergency funds to over 1300 of their students.
It was interesting to hear about what UP! is up to. Getting computers and internet to all the students in that program is no small feat, and I’m impressed with how quickly that happened.
Melissa also talked about how social distancing is especially difficult for people from affectionate, collectivist cultures. I think it’s important to note how that signifies yet another thing being taken from Canal residents: touch. This lack of touch piles onto the situation, making it impossible to find any sense of relief within the middle of this crisis.
