Setting Prisoners Free

After being isolated in our room for over 2 weeks, Beth and I both felt better and were no longer deemed contagious. This means we were cleared to leave our bubble, go outside, and return to work. This post is part 3 - in the links below I share about the inevitability of catching Covid-19 (part 1) and how many people blessed us and CCO during our isolation (part 2). In this writing, I plan to address our ongoing journey: how the battle of isolation and tackling this coronavirus has continued. Covid-19: It Was Inevitable A Bursting Bubble: thoughts from isolation I wanted to ease back into the flow, but it didn't work out that way - at all! There was so much happening on my first 2 days back at work, and against all sensible advice, I did far too much. There were some things that were unavoidable and necessary, but I should have said "NO" at other times. In other words, the demands didn't stop because of catching this virus - it's an ongoing journey, where the bat...

New Zealand is using "bubble" terminology to fight against the spread of Covid-19. "Staying in your bubble" means those who aren't essential workers must stay in their houses, yards, and areas, only leaving to get needed items. I know I'm simplifying it and I'm about to generalize, but families have been confined to their fifth-acre sections (bubbles) for the greater good and protection of those who would be considered high risk - like my own father who is over 70, has a lung disease, and was hospitalized last year due to blood clots. Beth and I both got Covid-19, and have been recovering. I wrote about being an essential worker, getting the virus, and being confined to our own little bubble here in Chicago.  Covid-19: It Was Inevitable What I want to focus on in this post is how our bubble has been very different from what I described above. I also want to focus on how we have experienced and been on the receiving end of a bursting bubble of love, gener...

The pandemic was gaining momentum in Chicago and the fear of Covid19 infiltrating our shelter was very real. 3 of our 4 programs operate open or congregate living situations, and in each of these shelters, bathrooms and the cafeteria are shared. We also serve a particularly vulnerable population - with a high number of our men and women being over 60 and/or have preexisting conditions. With this unseen and unpredictable virus doing potentially fatal damage, we launched into all the preventative measures we could. I’m proud of what we did. Over the following weeks, the changes we made were difficult and seemed impossible. A few of the dilemmas we had to change: the men slept 6 inches apart from each other, the women slept in bunk beds only 3 feet from each other, and our cafeteria had long lines and everyone eats together. As a result of the very real danger, here are just some of the moves we made: we opened up unused spaces, rearranged already-used areas, made good use of ducktape...