By Jillian Eller, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Conservation Fellow
Campaigns I am involved in have come screeching to a halt amidst the global pandemic of COVID-19. Although strategic pivots are being made, during these unprecedented times I have come to take stock in a much more profound way. I am grateful for being on staff here at the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter, thankful to be in community with volunteers, members, and supporters, and I’m proud to be doing this work now. As a part of my transition to teleworking, I have been checking in with folx about how they are adapting to COVID-19. I invite you to to take a peek into the lives of those who are a part of the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter:
Phill, Clean Energy Committee volunteer: “Less than a year ago I was living paycheck to paycheck, stalling my expenses by putting as many of them on credit cards as possible until the cash came through to afford them — always struggling to not deepen my credit card debt. My rent was $300 a month in exchange for a tiny room with just enough space to walk between two twin beds, whose springs would poke right into your back. At any moment, the other bed in my room could have been rented out to a complete stranger — that is, if they were willing to put up with the sewage smell in the bathroom, the bug infestation that creeped in from those pipes, the mini fridge and microwave kitchen that would be shared with three other people living in that basement, and of course the thought of living with absolutely no personal privacy. At that time, I was working on turning my temp agency catering job into a full-time one so my income could be more predictable, but in the meantime every cash expense such as rent and credit card payments would be stressfully planned out to match every paycheck.
“Fortunately for me, things have changed for the better. I'm very fortunate to be living, for six months now, in the best of the four places I've lived at during my last year and a half here in Atlanta. I'm very fortunate to have the best job I've ever had in my life, starting it only a month ago. I'm very fortunate because if I was in the situation now that I was in a year ago, with that housing situation and that job, facing the public health crisis and corresponding shelter-in-place order we're experiencing now, I would be completely miserable and hopeless. I would have been laid-off with little certainty of when or how much income I could expect, stressed out about not being able to pay for my basic expenses, stuck in a dingy and stale basement with few amenities, and stuck in a mindset with no sense of the opportunity or the potential I had a year ago that helped get me to where I am today. I would be depressed, lonely, anxious, and hopeless.
“My heart goes out to everyone having those feelings today. There are so many people stuck in bad housing with little to no income and with nothing to look forward to. My heart goes out to everyone experiencing that because of COVID-19, but this reflection is also a reminder for me that so many in our communities have been facing that challenge everyday, and will continue to face such hardships long after the public health crisis is over.
“I hope to do more direct support in the weeks, months, and years ahead that match my interest and advocacy at the local, state, and federal policy levels - and I'm going to be looking into what Mutual Aid really means and looks like as a part of that. I hope that our environmental community, focused on clean, healthy, and safe communities also pulls together during these difficult times and uses our organizing power to directly impact the day-to-day wellbeing of our neighbors that are looking for help now, but also prioritizes their experience and their needs first when we get back to business as usual.”
Natasha, Ready for 100 Smyrna volunteer: “The COVID-19 situation went from 0 to 100 almost overnight at my school in Cobb County. The sudden cancelation of nearly everything my friends and I had been looking forward as seniors nearing graduation made us question our high school careers and falter in finding motivation to continue what began to seem pointless schoolwork. On the other hand, the support of my friends, teachers, and community inside and outside of school has shown me the importance of cherishing the normalcy of daily life and interaction that we so often take for granted. I will also say that I now have newfound free time that I can dedicate to my passions, such as environmental activism, cooking, and learning foreign languages. Rather than dwell on what I have lost, I am instead trying to look to the future with hope and excitement.”
Nina, Metro Atlanta Group chair and active volunteer: “Even as the COVID-19 emergency lays bare more shortcomings of our society by the day, I've felt humbled and encouraged by the work people are doing in our metro area and around the world to care for one another, including through mutual aid and community support efforts. I have been fortunate enough to be able to shift time and energy toward two local programs (via Food4Life and Concrete Jungle) to deliver free groceries to people who need them. This change in priorities has meant that I haven't yet put as much time as I'd like toward thinking about what effective activism looks like when in-person gatherings (whether for meetings or demonstrations) are not an option. But I have been thinking about how, when we're not consumed by responding to the crisis at hand, there's an opportunity to consider how to incorporate what we're learning now — about helping each other and working together in the common interest — into our work to protect the environment for all.”
Matt Evans, MAG member: “While this pandemic is making it harder to go out and connect in person, it has made me appreciate the social connections I have. In the past few weeks, I have started reaching out to old friends I had not talked to in years. Being isolated has made me realize that were some friendships I had let lapse that I had wished I put more effort into. Connecting, even via Skype, feels satisfying and fulfilling in these strange times.
“I work at a supermarket. The company has instituted cleaning buggies for customers, as well as cleaning surfaces people touch often such as door handles, and PIN pads. They also encourage shoppers to remain 6 feet apart. The company also allows workers to wear face masks for protection.”