Love (and Community) in the Time of Corona

March 2020 eNews

The spread of the coronavirus pandemic is creating one of the deep challenges of our lifetimes. Standing with our communities in this time of crisis as the virus spreads, and keeping ourselves safe, will require the best in all of us to emerge.

What we do together to build connections and support each other and our neighbors at the local level is a life and death issue. These times can also show us what is possible when we work together using the combined power of science, know how, sharing and compassion. We can stop hate - and a virus - together.

Here are some stories that are motivating and inspiring us in these challenging days.

Stay Safe,

The NIOT Team

Joining Together to Eradicate Prejudice Around Coronavirus

As the coronavirus spreads so too have discrimination and racist attacks on Asian Americans. NIOT has been gathering stories of how communities are experiencing and responding to anti-Asian discrimination because of the coronavirus.

"Stigma hurts everyone by creating more fear or anger towards ordinary people instead of the disease that is causing the problem. We can fight stigma and help not hurt others by providing social support," states the CDC website. "We can communicate the facts that being Chinese or Asian American does not increase the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19."

Here's a round-up of stories and perspectives , plus 3 things you can do to help prevent stigma .

Other ways you can support vulnerable communities at this time:

Offer paid time off for employees and workers who do not normally have this as a benefit of their employment.
Check in on your neighbors, especially those who are older and those who have underlying health conditions. Help them get groceries or prescriptions, if needed.
Share and discuss only factual and accurate information from reliable sources with your neighbors, friends and colleagues.
Follow prevention and hygiene methods recommended by the CDC and the Department of Public Health, including frequent hand washing and social distancing.

(h/t to Canal Alliance for these ideas)

Coming Together While Being Apart

People across Italy have been singing from their balconies in an effort to keep up morale as the country faces the worst coronavirus outbreak outside China. Italy's 60 million citizens were placed under lockdown to halt the spread of a virus that has so far claimed over 1,000 lives i n the country.

Coronavirus: quarantined Italians sing from balconies to lift spirits

Dispatch from Pittsburgh:

'It Shows Us How Much Love There Is'

The Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue congregation celebrated Purim at the Calvary Episcopal Church last week. The church has been hosting high holidays for the Tree of Life congregation since the 2018 attack and the communities have grown a strong bond. Rabbi Myers wrote a play (shpiel) about Purim using a Harry Potter theme and Tree of Life congregants were joined by Calvary clergy to perform it. Purim is a holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an Achaemenid Persian Empire official who was planning to kill all the Jews.

"It shows us how much love there is that dwarfs the hate that spawned the situation," Tree of Life president Sam Schachner said about numerous religious groups in Pittsburgh who have donated funds and shown support for their Jewish neighbors.

Read more at the NIOT blog →

( Picture by Josh Franzos: Rabbi Myers on Mar. 8, 2020.)

Seattle: NIOT Screening to Improve Hate Crime Reporting

Over 100 young leaders, their parents and community members gathered at South Park community center in Seattle on February 26, 2020, for a Not In Our Town screening of Light in the Darkness .

The Seattle police department teamed up with Carmen Martinez of Duwamish Valley Youth Corps with a goal of improving hate crime reporting and learning about incidents from the community. Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz and Hate Crime Detective Elizabeth Wareing emphasized that everyone can feel safe reporting hate crimes to Seattle PD, regardless of immigration status. Learn more →

How Educators Can Stop Bias with CPR:

Cultivate. Respect. Respond.

On January 23, 2020, the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) sponsored an evening for educators entitled: Upstanders Teacher Mini-Summit: Disrupting Bias and Building a Positive School Culture.

Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas shared an acronym, CPR (Cultivate, Prevent, Respond), highlighting the urgency of creating safe and brave spaces while disrupting all forms of bias in schools. We asked Becki, who is the founder of Not In Our School, to share her thoughts about the evening and introduce the power of CPR.