Rising to the COVID-19 Challenge

This report looks at the impact of a deadly pandemic on the residents of Michigan’s two peninsulas from February 2020 to the present. It is a living document, a collective effort that incorporates data gathered by community action agencies (CAA) across the state, stories and examples drawn from interviews with CAA directors, state documentation, and media accounts. It highlights examples of economic barriers and opportunities that came to light over the past several months, especially for those who were already economically vulnerable or at risk of becoming so, and the efforts of CAA staff, volunteers and partners who have worked hard and smart to meet the unprecedented surge of human needs.

At its core, this is the story of the residents of the state of Michigan and a crisis so huge it has left almost no one untouched. And it is not over yet. Near the end of May 2021, thousands of adults and children across the country were being diagnosed with the virus, with grim predictions about what the next several months would bring, and hundreds more families were devastated as the virus claimed the life of someone they loved. At the beginning of summer 2021, there was reason for hope. The number of deaths from the virus and the number of positive tests was in decline. On June 1, 2021 the New York Times reported that the US was documenting about 23,000 coronavirus cases per day, lowest since spring 2020. At the same time, it was averaging about 450 deaths per day. In much of the country, the virus outlook was improving. And despite concerns by some, it was estimated that 70% of US adults would soon be vaccinated. Biggest gains in leading up to June 1 were made in vaccinating children 12 to 15 years old. Also, a significant number of people who contracted COVID had immunity. Andy Slavitt, a top COVID advisor to President Biden observed, “The virus is running out of places to be communicable.”

In late June, 2021, all COVID restrictions put in place by Governor Whitmer and state health officials were removed.

But this virus does not want to go away. Now, more than eighteen months into the pandemic, we are swamped with variants, like Delta, which appear to be highly contagious. Many schools were re-opened in the fall only to close again because of significant infection among unvaccinated children. An increasing number of vaccinated adults are being diagnosed with the virus, and a significant percentage of adults still shun the vaccines. Fear, fatigue, supply chain disruption, and politicization of the virus continue.

A foggy future

It is too easy to think life will return to normal. For so many in this state, it will never seem “normal” again. There are empty chairs at dinner tables and harsh memories of not being permitted to be with hospitalized loved ones as they passed. Some who suffered and survived the virus continue to face health-related challenges, now referred to by the Centers for Disease Control as Long COVID. People lost jobs that will never come back. Families lost businesses. Children lost parents – sometimes both. Communities lost health providers, line workers, spiritual leaders, teachers, shop keepers, neighbors, sage elders, friends

Like the influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919, the novel coronavirus will be analyzed for decades to come, as it should be. Even so, we have already learned so much.

The CAA network became the new lighthouses in Michigan.  They provide stability, reliable resilience, and an unmovable dependability in the midst of an ever-changing environment.  Their commitment in serving low-income individuals and families give them the strength to work long tiring hours.  CAAs are meeting needs by being creative and deploying innovate solutions in record time.

Part of the CAAs success is due to their ambitious collaborations and partnerships with local profit and not-for-profit organizations. Working together, they can effectively recognize emerging needs and share ideas and resources – a dynamic that became especially valuable as multiple crises unfolded in the wake of COVID.