COVID-19 Stories
In partnership with the University of New England, we asked members of the Maine immigrant and refugee community we serve about their experiences with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been really trying, but there have also been a lot of important lessons mixed in. This project is one small part of trying to hear, sit with, and reflect on these lessons so we can strive to do better and understand each other.
Questions:
Please note that these responses were gathered between March 2021 and June 2021.
To remind yourself of the larger timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic, please see this timeline from the US CDC and this timeline from the state of Maine website.
What was your experience with COVID-19? How did it impact your life and the life of your family members/friends?
Do you feel that COVID-19 poses a serious threat?
What do you feel put you most at risk for contracting COVID-19?
Did you feel that you had adequate, reliable access to information about COVID-19?
What resources were helpful and what resources do you feel were missing or inadequate in supporting you during COVID-19?
Were you or anyone that you know at any point hesitant to seek help due to immigration status?
What do you wish you had known about COVID-19?
How do you feel about the vaccine? Do you plan to be vaccinated?
How do you feel the US’s response has compared with other countries around the world?
“On that very day, we received a notification from our school that we had to return to campus to pack our things and go home immediately. The COVID virus has been quickly spreading. When I got back on campus, it was completely silent. Everyone had left already. I packed my stuff as well and said goodbye to the handful of people that were still on campus and left. I didn’t realize how much our lives would change from then.”