Thread by @JordanSherbino

Yesterday was day 6 of me spending several hours a day responding to people’s concerns and questions about COVID-19—with no real end in sight. Here are my preliminary observations:

First off, when all is said and done, I’m happy to do it. It’s difficult, draining, and overwhelming—but so is everything else right now. I count myself as very fortunate to have a job right now in these times of tremendous uncertainty.

I count myself as even more fortunate that I have a job where I at least get to try to help people out in the small ways I am able to. We all have a role to play in the pandemic, and I take my role very seriously.

Second: This is the very definition of an all hands on deck situation. When I’ve been speaking with community agencies and civic staff there hasn’t been any mention of “that isn’t my job” or “no that’s impossible.”

Instead, I’ve seen person after person step up to the metaphorical plate and knock it out of the metaphorical park. If people don’t know the answer they’re connecting with others who do and they’re learning on the spot.

It’s been heartening for me to see this level of collaboration and care in my community, and this isn’t something that I can take for granted.

Third: In my pre-pandemic job, I would respond to people’s inquiries about a variety of things, doing what I could to provide information or to connect them with the right people.

This part of my job was certainly far from glamorous and it was often thankless. I say this not to complain—again, I find myself very fortunate to have the job I do—but just to set a baseline for my regular context.

Now, people are magnitudes more appreciative of anything I might be able to provide to them. I don’t think that this is because I’m somehow doing a better job then I regularly would, but it’s because people are just appreciative of any help that anyone can provide.

Helping each other out is going to be the only way we get through this. It’s important for our physical as well as our mental health and well-being.

Fourth: This is a deeply emotional time for people. People are worried about themselves, their families, their friends, and their communities. These are uncharted waters for us, and right now the waves are overwhelming.

However, we’re not on the boat alone. There is a great team of people working on addressing this from every angle. Leadership is being shown from every sector of our community. Agencies and individuals are working together in extraordinary ways in these extraordinary times.

I know that I’m biased, but this makes me love my community even more.

Also, even if we are physically distant, that doesn’t mean that we have to be apart. The social ties we share are more important now than ever.

Reach out to one another. Talk to one another. Be real with one another. Be there for one another.

Finally: Kindness is the most valuable currency.

Yes, even more valuable than toilet paper.

We owe kindness to grocery store clerks, to people at the pharmacy, to delivery folks, and to people that we’re calling to sort through our financial changes.

We owe kindness to our neighbour that maybe just got laid off, to the business owner that had to shutter their doors for the first time in 20 years, to students who face financial insecurity, and to seniors that have lost some of their independence.

We owe kindness to healcare workers who are on the front lines and to all of the people working in this realm—nurses on the phone, clerical staff, and the all-important people that are working to keep these facilities clean.

We owe kindness to one another because we will get through this.

And when we do, we are still going to need each other to (re)build what may have been lost.

My office has been fortunate to receive a few messages of pure and sincere thanks and well wishes. I’ve appreciated these more than I can really describe and I think I appreciate them more than I can even understand at this time.

Showing kindness is showing leadership.

So please, let’s all show as much leadership as we can.

(fin)