Helping people prepare for, find, and keep good jobs is what Goodwill is about.

August 10, 2020

Hi Everyone –

Many of us have hit another wall this week as we struggle to deal with the pandemic and the reality that there is no end in sight for the near term. The loss of life and devastation to health is horrifying and the economic damage in the trillions will take us years or decades from which to recover. Some of the most helpful news I heard this week was from an interview with Bill Gates, who has been warning us about our lack of readiness for a global pandemic since at least 2015. Since then, he and his foundation have made huge investments in vaccines, treatments, and testing, and as a result of his work in this space, is a credible source for me. When Steven Levy of Wired.com asked him if he was optimistic, he said yes that “the innovation pipeline on scaling up diagnostics, on new therapeutics, on vaccines is actually quite impressive. And that makes me feel like, for the rich world, we should largely be able to end this thing by the end of 2021, and for the world at large by the end of 2022. That is only because of the scale of innovation that’s taking place.” Your version of optimism may be different than his, but it confirmed my thoughts that we were likely in this for the next year or two.

The impact to our health and well-being, both physical and mental, of living in crisis and under threat for this long can’t be underestimated. Finding peace is critical for our long-term survival and I asked our leadership team to describe the things they do right now to find peace, knowing that we all need all the ideas we can get right now. I thought I would share their answers with you, so that you would also have a longer list to go to when you are feeling overwhelmed.

·       Going to the beach, watching a sunset, getting outside, sitting on the deck or porch

·       Reading, listening to podcasts or books

·       Walking the dog, running, mountain biking, spending time in the woods

·       Cooking, photography, looking through old photo albums, music

·       Prayer, devotionals first thing in the morning, meditation and yoga

·       Spending time with children, talking with friends, taking care of others

The team reported finding peace in specific things, like riding in an old classic car or “hanging up our worries” when we walk in the door or stop working for the day. Any taste of “normal” we can find while being safety conscious helps us feel so much better. We need these moments more than ever as we worry about how to safely get our children cared for and educated this fall, as we worry about those who are unemployed and may lose their homes, as we worry about the health and lives of those we love, and as we worry about the well-being of those among us who suffer racism.

This past week, Governor Whitmer joined the American Public Health Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Emergency Physicians in declaring institutional racism a public health crisis.  The order takes beginning steps to positively impact the negative effects of racism in the state by calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to make health equity a major goal and by requiring data documenting differences in health outcomes among racial and ethnic groups in Michigan to be collected, analyzed, and made publicly available.  In addition, she has created the Black Leadership Advisory Council, which will develop, review, and recommend policies and actions designed to eradicate and prevent discrimination and racial inequity in Michigan. Governor Whitmer said, “we must confront systemic racism head on so we can create a more equitable and just Michigan. This is not about one party or person. I hope we can continue to work towards building a more inclusive and unbiased state that works for everyone.” We are fortunate to have a leader in our state committed to this work, to help guide the way for all of us as we work to eliminate institutional racism and its devastating effects.

Take good care of yourselves!
Jeanette