Lawrence Johnson, owner of Larry’s Barber Shop, plans to use his loan from the Virginia 30 Day Fund to purchase additional sanitation supplies for his business. PC:
Marley Nichelle
When the pandemic struck, “it was like somebody just snatched a chair from under us,” says Jeanetha Brown-Douglas, owner of JBD Event Catering & Soul Food. “It was like having a business one day, and having no business the next day.”
Inspired by her grandmother, Brown-Douglas first got into the food industry nearly 30 years ago, when she began working with UVA Dining. She later opened up a fried chicken stand in front of the Sunshine Mini Mart on Cherry Avenue, and it was a hit.
This led her to sign up for business classes at Piedmont Virginia Community College and for a program at the Community Investment Collaborative, which helped her to launch her own catering business.
“We did a lot of catered events and had a lot of contracts with various places in Charlottesville,” such as the University of Virginia, she says. “We got our name out there…and got really known.”
In 2018, Brown-Douglas was finally able to open her own eatery in Belmont, where customers no longer had to wait for a catered event to enjoy her home-cooked meals. But when COVID rendered large events impossible and forced everyone to stay inside, the shop went quiet.
The pandemic has hammered the economy, and local Black business owners like Brown-Douglas have felt the effects. Not only have many struggled to receive government assistance, but “being a Black-owned business is a challenge in itself,” she says.
Thankfully, some relief has arrived. JBD Catering is one of six minority-owned businesses in the Charlottesville area to receive a $3,000 fully forgivable loan from the Virginia 30 Day Fund’s new partnership with the United Way of Greater Charlottesville. These loans are being dispensed after previous government initiatives to keep small businesses afloat have failed—this is the first financial assistance JBD has received.
While the loans don’t have to be repaid, awardees are encouraged to “pay it forward,” and donate money to the fund when they’re back on their feet. That money will be distributed to another struggling small business in Virginia, according to entrepreneur Pete Snyder, who co-founded the Charlottesville-based fund with his wife.
After learning he’d been awarded a loan, Lawrence Johnson, owner of Larry’s Barber Shop, breathed a huge sigh of relief. He hadn’t received unemployment benefits, or any other sort of financial relief since shuttering his shop. Instead, he had to use money from his savings to cover his expenses.
Since reopening during the second week of June, business has been “slow but steady,” says Johnson. “Some people are still afraid to come out, [especially] the older customers.”
Johnson has owned his business, now located on Goodman Street, for the past 10 years.
He plans to use the $3,000 to pay his bills, and purchase additional sanitation supplies. He’d also like to do more advertising, and hopefully bring in new customers.
“I am very thankful for this opportunity,” he says.
Brown-Douglas has also had trouble keeping things going over the past few months. All of her catering gigs were canceled as soon as the pandemic hit, and because her eatery planned on moving, it was difficult to remain open for takeout.
“We had to literally shut down and start from scratch,” she says. “But I’m glad for that time, because it gave us a chance to really think about what direction we were going to take our business in.”
To help keep the lights on, Brown-Douglas and her daughter, Dejua, who helps run JBD, provided dinners to guests at a Salvation Army shelter, which were paid for by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Meanwhile, she applied for a range of grants, but did not have any luck until she received a phone call from Snyder last week.
“It’s been a really trying time for us,” says Brown-Douglas. “A lot of times, they don’t turn you down. They just say they’re out of money, or they’ve had so many applications they had to cut it off at a certain point. With the amount of people, It’s just like playing the lottery.”
“It really can break your spirit,” she adds. “[So] it was just a blessing to have that phone call, and actually feel like somebody cares.”
She plans to use the loan to “expand our inventory and safety equipment,” which she will need to reopen this month at her new location on Second Street, for both dine-in and takeout.
When it becomes safe to do so, Brown-Douglas will also open up the space for events, such as parties and meetings, which will include on-site catering.
“We do have the ability to do outside seating, and we also have a lot of space [inside] to spread our customers out, so they’ll be comfortable and safe at the same time,” she says.
Through its partnership with the United Way, the Virginia 30 Day Fund plans to distribute at least $76,000 more in forgivable loans to minority-owned businesses and early education centers in Charlottesville and Albemarle.
Volunteers pack bag lunches at the PB&J Fund on March 15. PC: Zack Wajsgras for CVILLE Weekly
In normal times, one in six Charlottesville residents—nearly 8,000 people—lack adequate access to affordable, healthy food. That’s 6 percent higher than the statewide food insecurity rate. And with thousands of citizens newly unemployed due to COVID-19, our food insecurity numbers have significantly increased, exacerbating underlying disparities.
Dozens of area nonprofits have been working for years to fight this complex, systemic issue, which disproportionately affects people of color, and when the coronavirus left many more residents in need of food assistance, these groups redoubled their efforts. What follows is a glimpse of a few of the local individuals and organizations that are feeding their friends and neighbors in need.
PB&J Fund
When COVID-19 shut down city schools, many students were at risk of going hungry because they’d lost access to their free (or reduced-price) breakfasts and lunches. The PB&J Fund, which teaches students how to make healthy, affordable recipes at home with their families, stepped in immediately, organizing volunteers to pack and hand out bag lunches on March 15.
The following day, city schools began distributing grab-and-go meals—but only on weekdays. To feed children on the weekends, the PB&J Fund set up a delivery program, dropping off bags of groceries on the doorsteps of more than 300 families every Friday.
“They are primarily shelf-stable items, with a little bit of fresh produce,” mainly from locally owned grocery stores, food banks, and farmers, says the fund’s Executive Director Alex London-Gross. “We want to ensure that people have options.”
While programs like this have been necessary in Charlottesville “for years and years,” says London-Gross, they are especially crucial now. With household staples flying off the shelves, it has been difficult for low-income families to get to stores in time to purchase all they need, often due to their work schedules. Charlottesville Area Transit’s reduced schedules have made shopping even tougher for those without access to a car.
“We have kids [waiting] at the front door who know what time their bag is going to be delivered,” says London-Gross. “They’re so appreciative.”
The PB&J Fund will continue to deliver groceries through the end of August, but plans after that are up in the air, says London-Gross. If city schools reopen (in some capacity), it may pivot to assist other community organizations with their food relief needs. It may also begin teaching cooking classes again, but in a virtual format.
We are really looking forward to “getting back to the educational piece of our work,” says London-Gross.
Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen
When local chef Harrison Keevil had to close down his family’s store, Keevil & Keevil Grocery and Kitchen, back in March, he immediately thought of his Belmont neighbors. What if they lost their jobs? How were they going to eat?
Right away, he began leaving 15 free lunches every day in front of the eatery for anyone who was hungry, no questions asked. But he wanted to do more.
By April, Keevil had forged partnerships with multiple area organizations that serve vulnerable populations—including PACEM, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, The Arc of the Piedmont, and The Haven—to provide freshly prepared meals, using ingredients purchased directly from local farmers.
And over the past few weeks, Keevil’s hunger relief program—called #FeedVirginia—has expanded its partnerships into rural areas like Goochland, Keevil’s hometown.
Chef Harrison Keevil has distributed about 24,000 meals through his #FeedVirginia program. PC: John Robinson
“We work with our partners to determine how many meals they would like, and either we or volunteers deliver it, or someone comes to pick it up from that group” every Tuesday through Thursday, says Keevil. “And Tuesday through Friday, we’re still putting out free meals in front of the shop.”
One-hundred percent of profits from Keevil & Keevil’s regular food and catering sales go toward funding the program, in addition to GoFundMe donations. While this new business model hasn’t been easy to adopt, says Keevil, the store has been able to stay self-sufficient, and currently has enough funds to get through the next few months.
“This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done professionally, but it’s also been the most rewarding,” he says. Before starting #FeedVirginia, “I hadn’t realized how lost I truly was. It has definitely reset me, and opened my eyes to why I love cooking and why I got into it in the first place—to take care of people [and] put smiles on people’s faces.”
The program has distributed about 24,000 meals to date—and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. “We will do whatever we can to keep this going [and] make sure we’re always there, especially for the Belmont community,” Keevil says. “We are here to stay.”
Local Food Hub
As soon as the University of Virginia shut its doors in mid-March, Portia Boggs, communications director for the Local Food Hub, knew that things were about to get “really bad” for area farmers, who rely heavily on wholesale sales to schools, restaurants, and other institutions.
Her worst fears were soon confirmed: Following closures all over the city and surrounding counties, farmers reported a more than 90 percent drop in sales. They weren’t sure how, or if, they were going to make it through the pandemic.
At the same time, “grocery store shelves were empty, and people were freaking out about whether or not they would be able to get enough to eat,” says Boggs.
To both help farmers and meet consumer demand, the Local Food Hub created a drive-thru market, held every Wednesday and Friday in the former Kmart parking lot on Hydraulic Road.
The Local Food Hub hosts drive-thru markets twice a week in the former Kmart parking lot on Hydraulic Road. PC: Supplied photo
Because customers place their orders online, “there’s absolutely no contact between anyone,” says Boggs. They just have to show up at their designated pick-up time and put a sign with their name in their front car window, and employees will put their order in their trunk.
The model has been very successful, bringing in hundreds of thousands dollars in sales to date for its 20 vendors. More drive-thru markets have since popped up around town.
“We’ve been completely blown away by the support from the community,” says Boggs. “So many of our vendors tell us that we either played a huge role in or were responsible for keeping them in business, and making it possible for them to survive.”
To further help families facing economic hardship, Local Food Hub expanded its preexisting food relief program, Fresh Farmacy, which currently provides locally grown produce to 600 low-income families every week.
While there is no set end date for either of the programs, Boggs hopes that “once things normalize a little bit more, people will remember the benefits of local food systems, [as well as] everyone having access to equitable food,” she says. We need to “continue to invest in that and prioritize that as a long-term solution, and not just an emergency response.”
Cultivate Charlottesville
For years, the Food Justice Network, City Schoolyard Garden, and the Urban Agriculture Collective have fought together to create a healthy and equitable food system in Charlottesville. To better achieve their mission and amplify their impact, the three organizations decided in April to come together as one: Cultivate Charlottesville.
Since the start of the pandemic, each of Cultivate Charlottesville’s programs has been working to provide emergency food security response, tapping into partnerships to expand current initiatives and create new ones, thanks to “a huge swell in interest and support not only from donors but individuals,” says Cultivate Charlottesville’s Executive Director Jeanette Abi-Nader.
Every week, the Urban Agriculture Collective, which works with public housing residents to grow fresh food, has hosted a free community market for families in need, distributing produce from its Sixth Street farm.
In collaboration with nonprofits Charlottesville Frontline Foods and Charlottesville Community Cares, the Food Justice Network has given out freshly prepared meals from local restaurants—particularly those run by people of color—to public and subsidized housing residents, as part of its efforts toward racial equity.
Food Justice Network associate Gabby Levet believes the pandemic has strengthened Cultivate Charlottesville’s partnerships, helping it to better respond to future community issues. PC: Marley Nichelle
During Charlottesville City Schools’ spring break, volunteers from City Schoolyard Garden and the Chris Long Foundation teamed up to deliver 4,000 meals from Pearl Island Catering and Mochiko Cville to students living in neighborhoods with high enrollments in the free and reduced-price meal program.
And as a collective, Cultivate Charlottesville has partnered with the local health department, plus other community organizations, to sponsor free COVID-19 testing in Black and Latino communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by the virus. It’s also worked to provide wraparound services, including groceries, medication, cleaning products, and PPE.
“Working with so many people across sectors and coming up with solutions in short spans of time…unlocks so much potential moving forward to respond to other community needs and broader issues that arise,” adds Charlottesville Food Justice Network associate Gabby Levet. “Those relationships will not be lost.”
However, these relief programs, among others, aren’t intended to become the “norm” for achieving food equity, says Abi-Nader. “We still want to develop principles and practices to build towards that longer-term food security,” she says, such as by securing more land for urban gardens. We want this to be “a part of what the community sees as necessary for being a healthy and better Charlottesville.”
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank—which provides food assistance to 25 counties and eight cities in central and western Virginia—was faced with a big challenge. With thousands of residents out of a job, a lot more food needed to be distributed to its community partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. But BRAFB had a drastic reduction in volunteers, and needed to limit the amount of people allowed to work during a shift to 10.
Fortunately, it immediately received “a historic outpouring of support,” says Community Relations Manager Abena Foreman-Trice, “allowing us to spend more than $2.7 million in response to the crisis, with nearly all of that going toward food purchases.” When the food bank put out a call for healthy, low-risk volunteers, around 700 people signed up to give out food to their neighbors in need.
A volunteer from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank hands out bags filled with household staples. PC: Supplied photo
Thanks to this substantial backing from the community, BRAFB has been able to keep nearly all of its partner food pantries open. Using low and no-touch food distribution practices, like curbside pickup and home deliveries, it has safely served 15 percent more people than it did at this time in 2019—roughly 115,000 in May alone, according to its latest stats.
In collaboration with community partners, BRAFB has increased its outreach efforts to vulnerable populations. With the help of volunteers from the Jefferson Area Board for Aging, it has distributed and delivered food boxes to senior citizens in need in Charlottesville and surrounding counties.
“We can’t predict when things will go back to the way they were before COVID-19….our response to the pandemic could go on for many more months,” says Foreman-Trice. Nonetheless, “we can remain ready to help individuals and families when they need us.”
The Charlottesville School Board convened virtually on Monday. PC: Staff photo
As new cases of the novel coronavirus pop up each day, it’s become increasingly difficult for area schools to decide how and when to reopen. And after over five hours of discussion and debate on Monday night, the Charlottesville School Board got no closer to a definite answer.
Last week, the district rolled out a proposal for reopening, which would send students in kindergarten through sixth grade to school for in-person classes—with social distancing guidelines and safety measures—four times a week. Seventh through 12th graders would be split into two groups and alternate between in-person and virtual classes throughout the week, but would work from home on Fridays. All students could opt in to online-only learning, ahead of September 8, the first day of school.
A number of parents, teachers, and other community members raised concerns about this model during public comment at Monday’s meeting, pointing to a variety of ways in-person classes could go awry.
“I believe that people will get sick,” said Tess Krovetz, a second grade teacher at Jackson-Via Elementary. “Right now we can say with some confidence that COVID-19 does not affect children the same way it affects adults. But that’s because for the most part since March we’ve kept our children home and safe. Sending them back to school is a science experiment that can—and will—lead to trauma and loss.”
Krovetz and kindergarten teacher Shannon Gillikin penned an open letter to Superintendent Rosa Atkins and the school board in support of a virtual reopening, citing case spikes due to the state reopening, among many other concerns. To date, more than 150 staff members from across the district have signed it.
Instead of putting a large amount of time and effort into planning for in-person classes, they encouraged the board to focus on training teachers and parents for equitable distance learning.
Lashundra Bryson Morsberger was the only board member who fully supported an all-digital reopening. She believes there are “too many unknowns” about the virus, and that the community isn’t safe enough for in-person classes. She also thinks the proposed plan spreads staff too thin and does not adequately address concerns about contracting the virus, which could put them out of work “for months,” making it even more difficult to implement distance learning if schools had to shut down.
“We need to take this time to do the best plan that we can for virtual learning, instead of losing time now talking about a plan that probably in September will just be a distant memory,” she said.
Last week, more than 70 parents signed an open letter to the school district, asking for it to offer in-person classes five days a week.
Multiple speakers during public comment were strongly in favor of face-to-face classes, particularly for younger students, mentioning the equity and learning gaps exacerbated by distance learning in the spring. A significant number of parents in the district are unable to work from home, they said, and would be forced to find child care, which could lead to more risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
The board will make its final decision on either July 23 or 30.
“No matter what we do, we’re going to have someone upset with us,” concluded board member Juandiego Wade.
It’s been nearly three weeks since most of Virginia moved into Phase 2 of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan. Some restrictions were loosened on businesses and social gatherings, but the pandemic is far from over, warns Ryan McKay, deputy incident coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson Health District. PC: Robert Llewellyn
Nearly three weeks ago, most of Virginia moved into Phase 2 of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan, loosening restrictions on a range of businesses. As the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests continues to trend downward, Virginians can now sit down to eat inside in a restaurant, work out at the gym, or hit the pool. And with places like Great Wolf Lodge planning to reopen soon (and Virginia Beach already open), you can even take a summer vacation.
But the pandemic is not over, warns Ryan McKay, deputy incident coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson Health District. Due to increased testing and availability, especially in black and Latino communities (which have been disproportionately impacted by the virus), new cases are still being reported in the Charlottesville area every day. And since the start of Phase 2, four people in the district have been hospitalized with the disease.
Fortunately, “case counts are relatively small compared to other localities in the state,” McKay says. “We continue to climb a little bit, and here and there we may have a day with more cases than we’ve seen previously, [depending] on what sort of testing is going on. But we’re not overwhelmed locally with cases in terms of contract tracing or investigation. Our hospitals have not been overwhelmed…we feel like we’re in really good shape, and we have been all along.”
“But that can change because we’re opening up more,” he stresses. “More people are going to be together in larger groups, and we just want to make sure we’re adhering to the guidance for Phase 2…[They’re] the safety measures that got us to this point in the first place.”
When going out, everyone should take Governor Ralph Northam’s order seriously, and always wear a face mask indoors.
“The asymptomatic individuals who have COVID can spread the disease,” says McKay. “You might feel great. You want to go out, and don’t want the face covering because it’s constrictive, or you don’t like the way it feels or think it’s unnecessary—[but] you still can actually spread the disease.”
“The best way to prevent that spread is [to] wear the face covering,” he adds. “That’s really what it’s meant for, to limit spread. It’s not necessarily a safety measure for the individual wearing it, but we’re helping to protect the community.”
People should also stay at least a six feet away from others, excluding household members, and comply with the established guidelines for each place they visit or activity they participate in, even with close family and friends. At a picnic or cookout, for example, they should avoid sharing food or utensils, says McKay.
While it’s generally fine for people who adhere to these rules to go out, it’s still safest to stay home, when possible. Those with underlying health conditions should especially “be mindful of where they’re going,” and “stay inside as much as they can,” adds McKay.
Though the recent protests against police brutality and systemic racism held in Charlottesville have attracted hundreds of people (many wearing face masks), the area has not seen a dramatic rise in cases. “Phase 2 and some of the protests here have coincided, so we’re not at a point where we can definitely say that one thing or the other has led to a huge increase in cases,” McKay says. “But we haven’t really had big spikes in our cases.”
He says the health department’s main concern is people disregarding safety guidelines on a larger scale. Phase 3 of reopening could be delayed again, or—in dire circumstances—Virginia could go back to Phase 1.
“Wearing the masks, if we do that as a community, down to the individual level, that’ll help us move forward into Phase 3 and continue to be able to do things that we want, with some mitigation strategies in place,” McKay adds.
But until there is a vaccine and widespread immunity to COVID-19, we should remain “concerned” about the possibility of a second wave of coronavirus cases, according to McKay. With local schools and the University of Virginia reopening in the fall, there will be even more opportunity for the virus to spread if the proper precautions aren’t taken.
Right now, “the best thing we can do is stress education about those strategies to minimize risk,” he says. “Making sure we’re protecting ourselves, but also each other, is going to be hugely important.”
Andrea Douglas, executive director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, thinks Juneteenth should be a national holiday. PC: Eze Amos
Since press time, Governor Ralph Northam has proposed legislation to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday. If it passes, all state employees would get the day off.
With additional reporting by Erin O’Hare
Every July 4, people across the country don their red, white, and blue; pull out their grills; and watch fireworks with family and friends, in celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But there is another independence day that’s often overlooked: Juneteenth.
Also known as Freedom Day or Jubilee Day, Juneteenth commemorates the day—June 19, 1865—that Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved people there that the Emancipation Proclamation had freed them, and the Civil War was over. Though President Abraham Lincoln signed the document two and a half years earlier, slave owners had to free their slaves themselves, and some did not until Union troops forced them to. Union troops in Texas, the most remote slave state, were not strong enough to enforce the order until Granger’s arrival—marking an effective end to slavery in the United States.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Charlottesville’s first known public Juneteenth celebration, which was held in a recreation center on Ninth Street, and hosted by Tamyra Turner, a professor at Piedmont Virginia Community College, and Maxine Holland.
PVCC hosted Juneteenth celebrations for 15 years, but in 2016, in an effort to boost waning attendance, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center took over, and brought the events to a more central location in town.
Bringing the holiday to downtown Charlottesville “has really revitalized it,” with attendance in the hundreds year after year, says the school’s Executive Director Andrea Douglas.
For the past few years, the JSAAHC’s Juneteenth party has included a ceremony honoring black community elders, music and dance from black artists, and educational programming. Douglas hoped to have a parade this year as well. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there won’t be “the kinds of events that we have had in the past,” says Douglas, who refused to “waste this anniversary.”
The Emancipation Proclamation was informed by the ideas of black people, especially Frederick Douglass. PC: File photo
Friday evening, in lieu of its in-person celebrations, the JSAAHC will host an online lecture centered around the Emancipation Proclamation. Holland, with assistance from C.R. Gibbs, Richelle Claiborne, and Ti Ames, will explore the document and the history of Juneteenth, as well as its various components and deeper meaning.
“We had always wanted to focus on the Emancipation Proclamation, because [it] is such an important document,” says Douglas. “In some ways, we think about it as Lincoln’s document, but it was a document that was worked on, and informed, by the ideas of black people—Frederick Douglass in particular.”
And in light of the ongoing protests demanding an end to police brutality and justice for the murders of black people across the country, Douglas says there will be opportunity to discuss “the nuances of what it means to be free,” including the conceptof freedom for black people in America today, and how, in many ways, they are still fighting for it.
Historian Hari Jones, former assistant director and curator at the African American Civil War Freedom Foundation and Museum, will also give a video presentation that dives into the history of Juneteenth and how the Lost Cause myth has impacted how it’s celebrated today.
Though Juneteenth at the JSAAHC will look a bit different this year, the spirit remains the same. And Douglas and others will continue to advocate for Juneteenth to become a national holiday.
Douglas wonders why, as a country, we celebrate July 4, one of the first big moments in American history, but we skip over Juneteenth, the “next main event.” It’s “the very thing that suggests that America made a huge shift…the shift that says that the confederacy, the secession, the papers of secession, those states that seceded, now lost the war,” she says.
While Charlottesville has taken steps towards acknowledging its troubled past by creating Liberation and Freedom Day, the U.S. cannot “fully engage in the truth of our history” until it officially recognizes Juneteenth, she adds. “It should be equally a national holiday as July 4—because it’s the same thing. It’s just how you want to see it.”
UVA sent its Class of 2020 off into the world (virtually) on May 16. Graduating during a pandemic, with record levels of unemployment and an economic depression likely to last for a long time, means an uncertain future for all of them. But young people entering the medical field are facing unique challenges—from disrupted training to health concerns.
Preparation is an integral part of becoming a nurse or doctor, and many fourth-year med students around the country got a head start, graduating early so they could jump in and help at overwhelmed ERs during the coronavirus crisis. But UVA students who were just completing their undergraduate studies, or still in medical school, have missed out on training opportunities.
Michelle Eckstein, who graduated this spring with a degree in nursing, will begin her job as a nurse at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital later this summer. With the continuing pressures on health systems due to the coronavirus, though, she’s afraid the orientation—which usually lasts three months—will not be as robust as usual. “I’m just concerned that I won’t get the one-on-one help, or focus on what I feel like I need in order to feel responsible and ready to be on my own as a nurse,” Eckstein says.
Her practicum, which would have given her more hands-on experience, was also canceled this spring. But Eckstein recognizes she will still be able to do her job. “I know that I am able and competent to continue to learn how to be a nurse, and I’ll be fine,” she says. But she feels the loss of “that extra cushion of your personal confidence.”
Medical students at UVA also missed practice in the field. Clinical rotations, normally an integral part of training for third- and fourth-year med students, were suspended during the crisis. The training was replaced with an online curriculum, including a course on the history of pandemics. Rising fourth-year Nico Aldredge says that, while these were great courses, “obviously it’s always better to be in the hospital learning.”
COVID-19 also put a hold on hospital employment opportunities, as Charlottesville hospitals restricted non-essential workers during the crisis. Mariam Gbadamosi, who recently earned her bachelor’s degree in human biology from UVA, was working as a scribe at the university medical center’s emergency department, where she was responsible for managing documents for physicians. She was furloughed in March, and has not only missed out on hospital work experience, but also the money for her medical school applications. Between the application fee, buying materials to study, and traveling for interviews, Gbadamosi says the process can add up to thousands of dollars. “[I’m] definitely hoping to… return to work soon so that I can cover those costs for just the application cycle,” she says.
In addition to worries over job insecurity and preparation for the workforce, recent grads entering the medical sector also face health concerns. Summer Rice, who just graduated from UVA with a nursing degree, has a job lined up as an operating room nurse. But with Type 1 diabetes, she is at a higher risk for coronavirus infection. “There’s not a huge risk,” Rice says. “But in general, yeah, I’m worried for my own health.”
Aldredge acknowledges that there is always a risk, even for young and healthy workers. “I’m 20 years old, but who knows if I were to get the coronavirus—if I would be that one-half percent of people that get critically ill and get intubated and potentially die,” he says. “You don’t know if you’re going to be that person.”
Amy-Sarah Marshall and her child, Phin Green, are both actively involved in Charlottesville Pride Community Network’s weekly Zoom hangouts, during which local kids and teens talk and play games.
PC: Eze Amos
While the LGBTQ community in the U.S. has made significant strides in recent years, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially for youth. According to The Trevor Project, LGBTQ teens are almost five times as likely to attempt suicide as their heterosexual peers. They also face disproportionately higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and PTSD.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has “exacerbated” these issues, says Amy-Sarah Marshall, president of the Charlottesville Pride Community Network. Some LGBTQ youth are stuck at home with families who are not supportive or accepting. Others have not come out to their families, so they cannot be their authentic selves at home, causing intense feelings of isolation and loneliness.
“The youth who have less supportive home environments are just really struggling a lot more,” says Rowan Johnson, Charlottesville youth program coordinator for Side by Side, which provides programming and resources for young LGBTQ people in Virginia. “Someone whose family doesn’t want them to talk about their identity. Or families who might also be under a lot of stress, and who don’t really want to deal with the queer-specific struggles that their kids are going through.”
Due to stay-at-home orders, LGBTQ youth have also lost access to the support systems they have at school, and other potential safe spaces. Even if they have a good relationship with family, they may still feel like they have nobody to talk to.
“Finding found family is a tried-and-true tradition in the LGBT community,” says Johnson. “Even those with supportive families are really missing their found family, and not being able to see each other and be together.”
To help, Side by Side offers Zoom support groups every week: one for ages 11-13, the other for ages 14-20. CPCN also has a weekly Zoom hangout for local kids and teens to talk and play games, says Marshall.
Marshall’s own child, Phin Green, an eighth grader at Buford Middle School who uses gender-neutral pronouns, says CPCN’s support group allows them to chat with people their own age.
“It’s nice to talk about stuff without fear of being judged,” they add. “Most of us can talk about stuff and not feel like we are going to be outed or hurt by other people on the call.”
Now that the support groups are online and not in person, some people who were not able to attend before the pandemic, due to issues like transportation and distance, have been able to participate, Marshall says.
But at Side by Side, Johnson says poor internet access has occasionally made it difficult for kids to join the meetings. Those who live in rural areas, or who come from unstable households, are the least likely to show up.
“We have a group of regulars who try to make it every single week,” he says. “But [attendance] is obviously much lower than it was in person.”
When the pandemic finally ends, LGBTQ youth will need even more support, as they recover from the additional trauma they may have endured at home. The people they rely on for support—including teachers, counselors, mentors, and LGBTQ organizations—are “going to need to be there for these kids, and allow them space to talk about [the pandemic] whenever this is brought up,” says Johnson.
“Sweeping this whole COVID time under the rug and trying to move on isn’t going to be helpful…The youth that we serve, they’re going to remember this time, and what it was like for the rest of their lives,” he adds. “We are really going to have to leave space to unpack it, and for youth to work through this.”
With schools closed since March due to the ongoing pandemic, Charlottesville-area teens have had to finish their high school careers with makeshift versions of the events they had looked forward to for years. PC: Eze Amos
By Claudia Gohn
Senior year traditions—from proms and sports banquets to senior nights and graduation ceremonies—have long been a way to commemorate the end of high school, giving students the chance to celebrate and say goodbye to one chapter of life before beginning a new one. But with schools closed since March and social-distancing regulations still in place, Charlottesville-area teens have had to finish their high school careers with makeshift versions of the events they had looked forward to for years.
Although many seniors are disappointed, some have found these celebratory moments special. Covenant School senior Madi Alley remembers when she was in ninth grade, watching the seniors in a capella perform their traditional spring concert. Now she’s a member of the a capella group herself, but this year’s concert looked much different. It took place at a family friend’s barn, with only four people in the audience, and the singers stood six feet apart, wearing masks. Still, Alley is grateful to her teacher for organizing a concert at all. “It felt like we were being seen and still cared for,” she says.
At Saint Anne’s-Belfield, it’s a tradition for seniors to break the dress code one day in the spring and paint their school uniform skirts with the logos of the colleges they will attend in the fall. Senior Miguel Rivera Young, who’s going to Brown University, says he and some friends found a modified way to take part in the tradition (which isn’t limited to girls): They spread tarps across a street, and painted the skirts while physically distancing from each other. Then they took photos, standing six feet apart.
But there was no substitute for some once-in-a-lifetime events, like prom. For Monticello High senior Catherine Taylor, prom was one of the main things she was looking forward to, and she had begun making plans for the night. “We all already had our dresses because it was so close.”
Having these memorable events within arm’s reach, only to be snatched away, has devastated many seniors. “At first it was really, really heartbreaking,” says Albemarle High senior Cora Schiavone. “I was just
really upset because there was so much I was looking forward to.”
Swimmers Charlie Cross, a senior at AHS, and Noah Hargrove, from Western, are mourning the cancellation of their summer league, where they would have had senior night and a last chance to swim on the teams they grew up competing with. While Hargrove’s year-round swim team coach put together a virtual form of senior night, “it wasn’t even close” to the real thing, he says.
Like everything this spring, many long-anticipated events weren’t typical of senior year, but they were better than nothing. “I would rather have the big graduation with everybody,” says Ally Schoolcraft, a senior at CHS, which held a “victory lap” and photo op for graduates last week. “But for the time being, I think they did good with the resources that they had.”
Since distance learning began in March, Marybeth Clarke has discovered many new things about her 14-year-old daughter, Elle, who is in seventh grade at the Virginia Institute of Autism’s James C. Hormel School. PC: Zack Wajsgras
To the relief of local teachers, parents, and students, this school year is almost at an end. The sudden transition to distance learning back in March posed a challenge to schools across the country, but it’s been especially tricky for special education and English as a Second Language students, along with their teachers and families. These students require individualized, hands-on assistance and care, something that does not lend itself easily to at-home learning.
When schools first shut down, many parents of special ed students did not know the specific strategies and practices that their children’s teachers used in the classroom, says Jessica Doucette, director of education services at Virginia Institute of Autism’s James C. Hormel School. Learning how to work with their student has been even more difficult for parents with full-time jobs, and single-parent households. Distance learning also removed those children from their much-needed classroom routines, which help them to manage behaviors and emotions, says Becca Irvine, a special education teacher at Baker-Butler Elementary.
When ESL students were taken out of the classroom, they lost a crucial learning tool: peer interactions. “English learners, in particular, learn by listening to their peers,” says Albemarle High School ESL teacher Renata Germino. That’s an especially big loss for students whose parents have limited English skills. In Albemarle County alone, there are kids from 96 different countries, speaking more than 80 different languages, according to Germino.
One of the biggest distance-learning challenges for ESL students, teachers say, is one many families have faced: internet access. Schools have provided Wi-Fi hot spots and laptops, among other resources. But some students still do not have adequate internet access. From ACPS’ Check and Connect program, which requires teachers and counselors to contact every student at least once a week, “we know there are 685 students, about 4.7 percent [of the division], who do not have home access to the internet,” says spokesman Phil Giaramita.
To accommodate them, teachers have sent learning materials through the mail, as well as delivered items in person.
And special education and ESL teachers have found a variety of other ways to meet their students’ needs.
Teachers at the James C. Hormel School have provided one-on-one training to parents of students with autism, teaching them how to work on specific skills with their children the same way they would at school, says Doucette.
These trainings and resources have helped Marybeth Clarke learn more about her 14-year-old daughter, Elle, who is in seventh grade at the James C. Hormel School.
“Obviously, I know my daughter inside and out, but I didn’t know her academically. As we approach new subjects and content every week, I have to gauge almost right away [if] there’s a skill missing that she needs in order to understand something else,” says Clarke, who is a stay-at-home mom. “Sometimes I see her do things I had no idea that she could do, and other times…[struggle with] things I had no idea she couldn’t do. It’s definitely a learning curve for me.”
While it was “very rough” for Elle when her school first moved online, she and her mother (with teachers’ support) have been able to establish their own routine at home, which helps Elle complete her work and feel at ease. Every school day, Elle writes in her journal, does online assignments, and receives one-on-one occupational and speech therapy through video chat—all at set times, and with plenty of breaks.
To best help their students, ESL teachers have been translating assignments into the students’ native languages, says Germino. They’ve also provided students with online articles designed for ESL, allowing them to change the reading level and have words read out loud.
But the biggest priority for both special ed and ESL teachers has been maintaining strong relationships and consistent communication with kids and their families, they say.
Like many teachers, Molly Feazel-Orr conducts daily virtual one-on-one meetings with each of her special education students at Burnley-Moran, during which she sets behavioral expectations and gives them a structured schedule for the day.
Teachers have also been videoconferencing regularly with parents, working with them to develop plans for every student that align with their individualized education programs, as required by federal law.
To regularly check in with students and their families, ESL teachers (who don’t already speak their language) use tools like Interpretalk, which puts an interpreter directly on the line, and TalkingPoints, which translates text messages in 100-plus languages. They’ve also used Zoom, Google Meet, and similar platforms to have one-on-one lessons, as well as bring everyone together to practice their English.
It currently remains unclear when students will return to their classrooms. According to Giaramita, the Virginia Department of Education will release a report this month “on timing and various scenarios for the reopening of schools,” which will have a “highly significant influence” on the decisions each school division makes—whether classes will be face-to-face, online only, or a hybrid of the two.
But for now, “we all need to offer grace to ourselves across the board—families, students, administrators, everybody,” says Germino. “This is all brand new for us, and we’re all working really hard to do the best we can.”
Joslyn Grimes (center) poses for a picture with her family after graduating at Albemarle High School on Saturday, May 23, 2020. Students filtered into the parking lot in five-minute intervals to experience the modified ceremony due to social distancing guidelines. PC: Zack Wajsgras
Rad grads
Charlottesville’s 2020 high school graduates imagined they’d be walking across a grand stage right about now, with “Pomp and Circumstance” blaring as an auditorium applauded. That’s gone, of course, but the virus hasn’t stopped our schools from showing love for their seniors. Districts around town have held variations on the traditional graduation ceremony, providing graduates with a chance to do more than just fling their caps toward the family’s living room ceiling.
Although school was originally scheduled to run through June 5, county schools decided to end “remote learning” on May 22, and held graduation events this week. At Albemarle High, students could make an appointment to walk across a tented, outdoor stage and receive a diploma while families and photographers looked on.
In the city, where lessons are (at least theoretically) continuing for the next two weeks, Charlottesville High put on a “victory lap” event—students donned their caps and gowns and drove around the school with their families, while teachers and staff stood by the roadside hollering congratulations and holding signs. The lap concluded at the front of the school, where graduates walked across the “stage” and received their diplomas. On the originally scheduled graduation day, the school will stream a congratulatory video, featuring footage from the victory laps.
In the past, most of the area’s public high schools have held their ceremonies at the John Paul Jones Arena. This year’s celebrations are far less grand, but they show the creativity, resilience, and sense of humor required in this moment—and they’re certainly as memorable as a valedictory address.
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Quote of the Week
“I’ll tell you what—I think it’s been a spectacular success.”
—Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer on Memorial Day weekend. According to the city’s police, there were no major social distancing
violations on the area’s jam-packed beaches.
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In brief
Pay up
The neo-Nazis who helped organize Unite the Right have, unsurprisingly, behaved poorly throughout the ensuing court case against them. On Monday, three defendants in Sines v. Kessler were ordered to pay $41,300 as a penalty for violating orders to turn over evidence related to the case, reports Integrity First for America, the organization backing the suit. Earlier this year, defendant Elliot Kline was charged with contempt of court and faced jail time as a result. The case is ongoing.
In the hole
After furloughing more than 600 employees with little notice, UVA Health System executives provided staff with more information on the institution’s deficit of $85 million per month. In a virtual meeting between School of Medicine faculty and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. Craig Kent earlier this month, Kent explained that the health system had a budget margin for this past year “of essentially zero” and had low reserves compared to other institutions, reported The Daily Progress. Naming several other money troubles, Kent admitted the institution hasn’t “run very efficiently over the years,” and promised it would make major financial changes.
Goodbye generals?
Years of debate (and violence) over the city’s infamous Confederate statues could soon come to an end. Four days after Governor Ralph Northam signed bills allowing localities to remove or alter Confederate monuments last month, Charlottesville City Manager Tarron Richardson told City Council via email that he would like to hold 2-2-1 meetings to discuss the removal of the Lee and Jackson statues, reported The Daily Progress. Richardson asked for the meetings, which would not have to be open to the public, to be held after council approves the city’s fiscal 2021 budget, which is expected to happen next month.
Hydroxy hoax
In a Sunday interview with “Full Measure,” President Trump admitted he was no longer taking daily doses of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug he claimed could prevent or treat coronavirus, despite mounting scientific evidence to the contrary. Just last week, he dismissed the findings of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and UVA, which concluded that the drug had a higher overall mortality rate for coronavirus patients in Veterans Administration hospitals, calling it “a Trump enemy statement.” Trump has yet to apologize for those remarks, still claiming in the interview that “hydroxy” has had “tremendous, rave reviews.”
Respectful distance
With social-distancing regulations in place, traditional ceremonies were off limits this Memorial Day, but some locals still found ways to commemorate the holiday. An enormous American flag floated over the 250 Bypass, thanks to the fire department, and residents showed up at the Dogwood Vietnam Memorial to pay their respects throughout the day, including a trumpet player who joined in a nationally coordinated playing of “Taps.”
Frozen out
Laid off workers looking for a new position amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic won’t have an easy time of it, as several of the city’s major employers—including the City of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia, and Albemarle County Public Schools— have announced hiring freezes. Among the positions on hold in city government are the heads of the departments of Parks & Recreation and Public Works (both currently being run by interim directors), along with traffic supervisor, centralized safety coordinator, and others.
