For weeks, I had planned the launch of my “It's So Great, It’s
Cary” blog. My intent was to start with
a post about our Cary Town Council retreat which was held the first week of
March. And then the US spread of
COVID-19 took off. We had been watching
it unfold in China, and on the West coast and it was news….the kind of news
that everyone talks about but doesn’t personally relate to. Then, while we prepared for our
retreat, the first COVID-19 case occurred in Wake County. It became personal. But, still, it was strangely
distant those first few days. One
person…. okay… Two. Three. Four. Five….
And then, it became really, really personal. We began to wonder if anyone around us has
it. We started washing our hands for
twenty seconds. Then, news began to
trickle out: people we know are being treated for COVID. It has become real.
For some of us, our biggest inconvenience is the
cancellation of a conference or a shortage of toilet paper. For others, it is terribly disappointing: a
canceled wedding or missing the Spring semester of our senior year. But, for some of us in our community, this
COVID-19 experience is catastrophic. People
have or will lose their loved ones. Many
will be heartbroken to have someone they love infected, suffer, or pass away.
And, there is another impact: economic.
The economic impact of COVID-19 is – and will be – profound. People who depend on working service jobs are
without work – many, without pay. Anyone living paycheck to paycheck is now
teetering on the edge losing everything.
Individuals do not know how they are going to pay their rent or buy
food. Children who depend on receiving food at school or taking food home to
their families through the Backpack Buddies program are hungry. I cannot recall a time when so many
individuals and families are at risk of economic collapse.
My daughter lamented that we may not be refunded the money
we paid for a field trip. I told her
that we are all going to have to share in the financial suffering resulting
from COVID-19. There are bus drivers who
thought they would be working this week but are not. There are hotel staff members that thought they would
be cleaning rooms but are not. There are
restaurant workers that anticipated feeding hundreds of students and
chaperones, but they will not be.
I hope that you will join me in helping our community’s most
vulnerable residents survive this experience.
Please consider supporting people who provide your services and our
local businesses. For example, my friend
told me that she is going to continue to pay her house cleaner, even though
they are taking a break in the practice of “social distancing.” Also, please consider donating to the
Interfaith Food Shuttle so that we can get food to those that need it:
unemployed individuals, children, and at-risk senior citizens. Check out this page on the Interfaith Food
Shuttle website: https://www.foodshuttle.org/blog/2020/3/13/inter-faith-food-shuttles-response-to-covid-19
.
Thank you for reading. I hope you all stay healthy! As always, please contact me if you have any
Cary-related concerns or questions: jennifer.robinson@townofcary.org.