MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Communities have been working together to get through the pandemic.
Local organizations have also stepped up to assist.
One organization in particular is Stand for Children which advocates for equity among parents, students and educations.
In living through a pandemic, every now and then, we need an outlet to vent.
Stand for Children has a weekly outlet that also brings change.
We are all different, but lately, we have been facing similar obstacles as a nation.
“We’re going through a pandemic. We have a lot of racial justice issues in the news and we have virtual learning happening which is a brand new uncharted situation for a whole lot of people,” said Reverend Edith Love, Stand for Children Tennessee Outreach Coordinator.
The organization fights for equity among parents, students, and educators.
“This is an unprecedented time. We had a pandemic 100 years ago, but we didn’t have the internet. We didn’t have a whole lot of the way that our world is structured now. This pandemic has increased stress for people, anxiety, depression, isolation. A lot of people are having trouble coping with the way things have shifted,” said Love.
Stand for Children has been providing an outlet for people to express what they are feeling.
“We’ve got job loss. We’ve got a lot of headlines in the news about racial equity being an issue. There’s a lot of stuff that should be talked about and I think it’s helpful to just get it out there. If you just hold it in and don’t let it out, it can be really hard on people,” said Love.
Some of that release has already led to change.
“Recently, a friend of mine brought her concern about students being required to wear uniforms for virtual school. She actually created a survey and got it out to a whole bunch of people. She got enough attention to the issue that she actually got that pushed through and changed,” said Love.
The group along with the community are putting grievance to action.
The virtual community check-ins are every Monday.
They also have a virtual happy hour meeting on Wednesdays and talks with the organization’s Executive Director of Fridays.