Resilience in the face of COVID-19

COVID-19 (coronavirus) is in the U.S., and the Care and Wellness Team at Cooperation Humboldt would like to share some information and suggestions for community care and resilience through this time. We offer thoughts in alignment with our cooperative, resilient values and approach to community, and our recommendations are intended to promote a pro-social approach to this situation.

Above all, we ask that you remember that your community members are human beings in need of love and care, not just vectors for disease. Yes, it is important to be careful when touching others, but maintaining a community sense of care and mutual aid is our best defense — for our own immune systems, and for ensuring we make it through any trials of this period as a community.

Humboldt County presently has at least one confirmed case of COVID-19, and according to county health services, that individual is self-isolating and recovering well. In spite of this hopeful news, we need to be educated and mindful with this disease, and ensure we are prepared as a community to handle any disruptions that may occur as a result of fears and disease spread.

Of course, we recommend that you practice excellent hygiene and sanitation, ensure your routine, diet and daily practices are beneficial to your immune system, and avoid close contact with others who are sick, or if you become sick. Beyond these basics, we also offer thoughts and advice towards the ends of working through this time as a resilient, compassionate community.

As with climate change stresses, natural disaster and other events such as power outages, it is crucial to keep in mind the possibility of major disruption so that we can be prepared and resilient. We recommend that you develop a plan for your workplace, school or church in the event of social disruption as the disease spreads. Think through how you would prepare for situations of quarantine and school or business closure. This might include having a supply of two to three weeks worth of extra food, medication, and any other items you may need in the event that you must self-isolate.

But true resilience cannot be achieved alone. Disaster resilience is built on community care and mutual aid. As we know that COVID-19 typically presents more serious symptoms for the elderly, we ask that you offer to help your elderly friends or relatives with groceries, errands, or other needs that might put them at risk. We ask that you offer to share extra food and supplies with neighbors or friends in need, especially for those without the financial resources to stock up. We ask that you model good hygiene practices, such as frequently washing hands and coughing or sneezing into a sleeve or disposable tissue, and encourage others to do the same. Last, we encourage you to share factual information with friends and family, and actively maintain strong emotional bonds with your community members through any disruption that may arise.

The interruption of businessas-usual may be frightening, but held within its disruptiveness is the opportunity to transform how we engage with one another, and forge community that is compassionate, caring, and resilient. We leave you with this quote:

“Disasters are, most basically, terrible, tragic, grievous, and no matter what positive side effects and possibilities they produce, they are not to be desired ... . But disaster doesn’t sort us out by preferences; it drags us into emergencies that require we act, and act altruistically, and bravely.”

— Rebecca Solnit, “A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster”

In peace and solidarity,