Jennifer: “My whole life before Covid-19 revolved around people. Meetings, events, banquets, and neighborhood gatherings dominated my life. As an extreme extrovert, I had a fear of changing my daily life after the pandemic hit. I am thankful that though my schedule has changed, I have been extremely busy during this time, answering phone calls, e-mails, and facebook messages from people in need of resources or needing questions answered.
I have made it my mission since this all started unfolding to get more information out to the non-English-speaking community, and especially to the Spanish-speaking population. I have been shocked with the lack of information coming out of our government to the non-English-speaking residents, who make up a quarter of our population in Lexington alone. The State, while doing an excellent job of sharing information in general, has largely been silent in making resources available in the press conferences for those who speak other languages. This is a tragedy in a public health crisis because large portions of our population aren’t getting the vital information they need.
That being said, I have been busy passing out flyers to businesses with information in Spanish, working with the health department, our local leaders, community partners, the State, the radio, TV stations, and the local newspaper, trying to share information with those in need. When I imagined this time, I imagined more time hanging out with family, doing projects, working on forgotten hobbies, creating art, and doing more around the house. While I have done a little bit of that, mostly I have been working many hours a day. And you know what? I am incredibly grateful for what I am able to do and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”