‘We are a community unbroken'
In Chelsea, as in many places, the pandemic laid bare all of the ways in which this country is broken.
Advertisement
But COVID-19 did not break Chelsea. It made the city stronger.
'Bad things happened, but we came out so powerful,' said Elaine Mendes, pastor and director of
Those first few weeks were terrifying for everyone. Chelsea has long been blessed with community leaders who are forces of nature, but even they were initially overwhelmed.
'One of the things that the pandemic taught us is that the cavalry is not coming,' said Fidel Maltez, who headed the Department of Public Works in Chelsea in 2020 and is now city manager. 'No one was coming to bail us out, so it is on us to do that.'
Starting on March 11, 2020, city and nonprofit leaders held daily conference calls to coordinate the city's response, identifying the most urgent needs — food, diapers, health care — and creating an entire emergency ecosystem, including a hotel where infected residents who lived in crowded apartments could isolate. The usual Chelsea powerhouses —
Advertisement
A lot of folks were embarrassed and afraid to accept the help at first. Recent immigrants were used to keeping to themselves, and staying below the radar.
'I remember being at those food lines and seeing mothers and children and that sense of shame,' said Maltez, his voice breaking at the memory. 'And I was saying, 'It's OK, there's no shame in that. We also have been through challenging times.''
Gradually, some amazing things happened. The people who were initially reluctant to go outside and accept help grew more comfortable in their own city. The bonds between them grew stronger. The organizations that were serving them — aided by an influx of pandemic relief and philanthropic funds — greatly expanded their capacity. Because residents trusted them to provide pandemic relief services, they were also open to their other offerings.
At Revival church, Mendez is still giving out boxes full of food, but she also offers Capoeira and yoga classes, community information and bingo nights, and ESL classes, all of them well attended. GreenRoots added a
Advertisement
'A lot of folks have decided that they want to be in community more,' said Jojo Emerson, who heads the food operation.
At Chelsea Community Connections, diaper distributions have given way to wellness classes where women gather to learn about their health and advocate for themselves — and get a $30 Market Basket gift card — while their children are fed and cared for. Gathering regularly means those women have formed communities, too, friendships that allow them to rely on each other. At Chelsea Black Community, vaccination drives have given way to job training programs for young people, designed to redress some of the disadvantages that made Chelsea such a ripe target for the virus.
'We want them to be self-reliant financially, so they don't have to double- and triple-up in apartments,' said Cromwell.
Along the way, Chelsea Black Community became a full-fledged nonprofit and, like the other smaller organizations that stepped up during the pandemic, a power player in the city. Its strength, like the tighter connections forged by the pain of the pandemic, has made Chelsea stronger than ever.
'We are a community unbroken,' said Mendes.
That inspiring resolve is being tested again now, as
'It might not be a pandemic that is killing people, but it's a different kind of pandemic,' Cromwell said. 'We realize we have to stick together.'
City manager Maltez and others worry that fear will fray the deepened sense of community forged during COVID, diminishing the trust those who lead the city spent so long building.
Advertisement
'Until now, I would say, 1,000 percent, people are willing to come out more,' he said. 'But this week has been rough. People are afraid.'
It's possible even the mighty people of Chelsea, who faced down the terrible virus, are no match for this new contagion.
Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Opinion: Bringing students back — chronic absenteeism is a crisis Utah can't ignore
In Utah's classrooms — from St. George to Cache Valley — an invisible crisis has taken root: students aren't showing up to school. In the wake of the pandemic, chronic absenteeism has spiked to unprecedented levels across the state and the nation. The result isn't just missed instruction — it's missed opportunities, missed futures and missed connections to our communities. Before COVID-19, Utah had one of the lowest chronic absenteeism rates in the country. But since 2020, those numbers have nearly doubled in many districts, including in Cache County, where teachers and administrators are raising alarms about students slipping through the cracks. Statewide, roughly 1 in 5 students now meets the threshold for chronic absenteeism — defined as missing 10% or more of the school year. That's about 18 full days of instruction. This isn't a temporary dip in engagement. It's a structural issue that threatens long-term educational success, workforce readiness and, perhaps most importantly, civic health. The causes are complex but painfully familiar. Mental health struggles have increased significantly among Utah's youth. Anxiety, depression and burnout, exacerbated by academic disruption and social isolation, are keeping students home. Economic pressures weigh heavily on many families. In parts of Cache County and rural Utah, limited access to transportation or reliable childcare can turn everyday logistics into barriers to attendance. Academic disengagement, especially after the shift to remote learning, has made it harder for some students to reconnect with school. Once behind, many simply stop showing up. A cultural shift in how some families view the importance of in-person schooling has emerged. The rhythm and routine of school have been disrupted, and many communities haven't fully restored them. These are not problems schools can fix on their own. This is a community problem, and it requires a community solution. We often talk about education in terms of curriculum, testing and funding, but none of it matters if students aren't in class. Chronic absenteeism is one of the clearest predictors of academic decline, high school dropout and long-term economic struggle. It also puts strain on teachers, complicates classroom management and disrupts learning for students who do attend. In rural counties like Cache, where every student counts and community cohesion is strong, absenteeism doesn't just affect schools — it weakens our shared future. And the stakes are especially high in Utah, where we pride ourselves on strong families, tight-knit communities and a forward-looking vision for our children. This is not a challenge that can be solved by state policy alone. We need local, community-based responses, starting now. Faith groups, nonprofits and local employers can partner with schools to offer transportation help, mentorship and family support. Parents and neighbors can play a more active role in encouraging daily attendance and reinforcing the value of education. Local officials can prioritize funding for after-school programs, student wellness and attendance outreach teams. Community leaders and media outlets can help reframe the conversation: this is not about punishment — it's about connection, belonging and showing students and parents they matter. Let's make school a place where students want to be — not just for grades, but for growth, purpose and community. Hope begins at home. Here in Utah, we don't wait for Washington to solve our problems. We come together, roll up our sleeves and take care of our own. Tackling absenteeism will require that same spirit, especially in close-knit places like Cache County, where community strength is one of our greatest assets. We can't afford to let this become the new normal. It's time to bring our students back — one day, one connection and one conversation at a time.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Arkansas stuck among bottom five states for child well-being, report shows
(for Carter's Kids) Arkansas remains among the worst states for child well-being, ranking 45th nationwide for the second year in a row, according to the annual Annie E. Casey Foundation report released Monday. The group's 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book measures 16 indicators of child well-being in four categories: education, health, economic well-being and family and community. The report ranked Arkansas: 36th in education 45th in economic well-being 46th in family and community 47th in child health Arkansas has consistently ranked in the bottom 10 states overall and in the specific categories. The state's statistics worsened for the majority of indicators in 2023, the year the data in Monday's report was collected. The report drew comparisons between 2023 and 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread socioeconomic impacts on families. In that time, Arkansas saw a decrease of children who live in poverty or whose parents lack secure employment, but the state's rates of children in those situations outpaces the national rates, according to the report. In 2023, 144,000, or 21%, of Arkansas children lived in poverty, only a 1% decrease since 2019. The state also had fewer children in high-poverty areas with 68,000 in 2023, a 2% decrease since 2019. Aecf-2025kidscountdatabook-embargoed Other indicators remained stagnant, such as 37% of children in single-parent households and 12% of high school students not graduating on time, according to the report. The state 'cannot become complacent as the result of modest improvements,' said Keesa Smith-Brantley, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families in a press release. AACF is a member of the Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT network. 'We should be particularly alarmed by the outcomes for our teens,' Smith-Brantley said. 'We're trending in the wrong direction for teens not attending school and not working and teens who are overweight or obese. And while Arkansas's teen birth rate improves each year, we're stuck at or near the bottom because of the policy choices and investments we're not making.' In 2023, 17,000 Arkansas teens were neither working nor attending school, a 3% increase from 2019. Children and teens between the ages of 10 and 17 saw a 4% increase in obesity rates from 2019 to 2023 while the national rate remained stagnant, according to the report. Additionally, Arkansas had almost double the national rate of teen pregnancy in 2022, even after a 17% decrease since 2019. By 2023, the state's rate had dropped from 25 to 24 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, according to the Casey Foundation report. The national rate is 13 births per 1,000 females. 'Those babies are more likely to be born in families with limited educational and economic resources, and if you have a baby as a teen, there are simply going to be more challenges with finishing high school, going on to college and working [up and] out of poverty,' AACF policy director Christin Harper told reporters in a Wednesday news conference about the report. President Donald Trump's administration has attempted to withhold Title X family planning grant funds, which include teen pregnancy prevention efforts. This is one of several recent federal actions that Harper and other AACF leaders said would put child well-being in Arkansas at risk. Nearly 3,400 Arkansas babies were born with low birth weights in 2023, a 0.4% increase since 2019. Being born at less than 5.5 pounds, often caused by premature birth, creates health risks for children not only in infancy but throughout childhood and even into adulthood, according to a 2024 Casey Foundation report that highlighted the racial disparities among children's health, particularly affecting Black Arkansans. 2025-KCDB-profile-embargoed-AR Arkansas also consistently has among the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality nationwide, but it remains the only state that has taken no action to adopt the federal option of extending postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months after birth, according to KFF. More than half of births in Arkansas are covered by Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance system for low-income Americans. Additionally, Arkansas' rate of child and teen deaths worsened from 2019 to 2023, totaling 300 per 100,000. About half of the more than 800,000 Arkansans on Medicaid are children. An additional 50,000 children in Arkansas, or 7%, were uninsured in 2023, a 1% increase from 2019, according to the KIDS COUNT report. A federal budget bill moving through Congress would make deep cuts to Medicaid spending, reducing the program by $625 billion over 10 years, and shift some of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps, to state governments. As of March, 235,927 people in Arkansas received SNAP benefits, the Advocate previously reported — approximately 7.6% of the state population. AACF leaders said last week that they are concerned the budget bill will worsen child well-being in Arkansas if it receives approval from Congress and Trump. Arkansas' SNAP program contains a work requirement, and the state has taken steps to impose a work requirement for recipients of the Medicaid expansion program. The federal budget bill would also add new Medicaid work requirements for some able-bodied adults. AACF has repeatedly denounced such requirements. U.S. House GOP mandates Medicaid work requirements in giant bill slashing spending Children who live in households at risk of poverty 'are especially likely to fall off of health care [coverage] because their parents can't meet the work requirements,' said Maricella Garcia, AACF's race equity director. The organization is also concerned about the 43,000 Arkansas children aged 3 and 4 who were not in early childhood education programs between 2019 and 2023, AACF education policy director Nicole Carey said. This number increased 6% between 2015 and 2018, according to the report. Fourth-graders in Arkansas were 3% less proficient in reading in 2024 than in 2019, according to the report, and state officials have made improving childhood literacy a priority in the past few years. The wide-ranging LEARNS Act of 2023 implemented literacy coaches in public schools graded 'D' and 'F' by the Department of Education. Under the new education law, students who don't meet the third-grade reading standard by the 2025-26 school year will not be promoted to 4th grade, but $500 tutoring grants will be available on a first-come, first-served basis with priority to those to be held back in third grade. Carey pointed out that the fourth-graders of the most recent school year were in kindergarten at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 'When they did their testing in the school year of 2023-24, that was when a couple of those literacy pieces [of LEARNS] were still being implemented, so we really can't say yet if the literacy coaches in the 'D' and 'F' schools or those literacy tutoring grants are going to impact this indicator,' Carey said. 'There's definitely hope that they will.' Nationwide in 2024, '70% of fourth graders were not reading proficiently, worsening from 66% in 2019 — essentially undoing a decade of progress,' the report states. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Five years later, some COVID-era graduation traditions live on
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — High school graduations were among the hundreds of practices adjusted in the wake of COVID-19, and five years later, some still don't look the same. In 2020, many districts turned to virtual ceremonies or heavily restricted in-person events. Five years out, high school seniors are able to enjoy a more classic ceremony. However, some central Ohio school districts continued select COVID-era practices, turning adaptations into new traditions. See previous coverage of 2020 adaptive graduations in the video player above. Grandview Heights Superintendent Andy Culp said in 2020, the district hung banners of the graduating class along a fence on Grandview Avenue. Hayley Head, Grandview Heights' executive assistant to the superintendent, said the tradition has continued since. Initially parent-driven, Head said the banners are hung the weeks around graduation to celebrate seniors. Big Lots reopening fourth wave of revived Ohio stores 'Five years later, this has become one of the many traditions that celebrate our graduating seniors and it is also a much anticipated community tradition as well,' Head said. Bexley City Schools also continues to hang senior banners along Main Street post-COVID, as does Whitehall on Yearling Road. Whitehall Schools Director of Communications Amanda Isenberg said the district prints individual banners for each senior. 'It has become a visible way to celebrate our graduates and their hard work,' Isenberg said. Larger districts were less likely to maintain COVID-era traditions. New Albany-Plain Local Schools spokesperson Patrick Gallaway said district bus drivers delivered yard signs for each graduate in 2020, but with 441 graduates this year alone, it was not cost-effective to continue it. 'The one thing we still do is a slide show that we run on the jumbotron at Huntington Park before the ceremony,' Gallaway said. 'It is definitely a labor of love.' Gallaway said parents have also continued making an Instagram account each year since 2020 to celebrate the graduating class. The account is not associated with the school, but posts photos of graduates and their after-high school plans. Where to find specials Friday for National Donut Day New Albany-Plain is one of many larger districts that did not maintain new traditions, but have leaned into the technological or logistical adjustments from COVID. Hilliard and South-Western City Schools representatives both said commencement is almost entirely back to pre-COVID operations, but both schools now offer video formats for people who cannot attend in person. South-Western makes graduation videos available online after, and Hilliard livestreams the event. Pickerington spokesperson Jacqueline Bryant said the district first implemented a ticketing system for graduation in 2020. The district continues to use ticketing, although students now receive eight tickets each instead of the two they had in 2020. Olentangy spokesperson Amanda Beeman said the district adapted in 2020 and 2021, but has since gone back to its many pre-COVID traditions. She said with multiple high schools, anything else would be tricky. Gahanna-Jefferson, Reynoldsburg, Upper Arlington, Canal Winchester and Westerville also told NBC4 they have fully reverted back to pre-pandemic celebrations. 'We had a parade instead of a graduation ceremony in 2020. We tried doing both a ceremony and a parade in 2021, but it turned out to be too much for families to juggle,' Upper Arlington spokesperson Karen Truett said. 'We've been back to 'normal' for the past several years.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
