A desire to learn and a good attitude is all you need to participate in one of Neighborhood Navigators of Eagle Countys summer activities as part of its Muevete Mujer! project.

The initiative, which started last year, aims to promote physical activity and personal care for women, especially for mothers who often do not have time for themselves.

We met to see what activities we were hearing in the community that were of interest to moms, in order to recognize those activities and in turn, for moms to take at least an hour or two a week for personal care or an activity they enjoy, said Melina Valsecia, Neighborhood Navigators of Eagle County manager.

One of the activities that emerged as part of this project is mountain biking, made possible through a collaboration with local nonprofit The Cycle Effect.

We teamed up with The Cycle Effect and decided to do these classes and, in fact, they have been very successful. The moms are very happy, said Carolina Guzman, Neighborhood Navigator for the town of Eagle.

The Cycle Effect empowers young women through mountain biking, mentoring and community impact.

According to a 2019 report, 62% of The Cycle Effect participants identify as Hispanic or Latina. However, Brett Donelson, founder and executive director of the organization, noted that more outreach was needed within the Latinx community.

We knew we were lacking that piece, Donelson said, referring to the lack of Spanish-speaking leaders in the organization within Eagle County. That is really why we got involved with Neighborhood Navigators this is one of the most important partnerships we have.

Neighborhood Navigators helps recruit participants within the Spanish-speaking community where the organization has limited reach, and in return, The Cycle Effect provides the necessary equipment and training during practices to teach participants how to mountain bike.

But beyond physical training, Neighborhood Navigators hopes that the moms will take home new knowledge and a new activity that they can share with their children, like being able to ride a bike together.

Joselyn Regalado is one of the mothers who has been participating in the mountain biking group since last year, but before joining, she had never been on a mountain bike.

The first few times were very difficult, I was even crying and I told myself I wasnt coming back because I didnt think I would be able to do it, she said. But Brett worked a lot with me that first time, and he told me some stories that really motivated me.

Regalado has a daughter who has been on The Cycle Effect team for two years, and like herself, the program has benefited her daughter greatly.

Shes more self-confident, her self-esteem is higher, she is very happy, and she enjoys coming, Regalado said of her daughter.

The cycling group for moms meets on Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Eagle. Last summer, it started with a group of 25 moms; however, this year the capacity has been reduced to seven participants due to COVID-19, and unfortunately, they are currently not accepting new participants.

However, as part of the Muevete Mujer! initiative, Neighborhood Navigators will be offering other free opportunities to stay active this summer, including hiking, yoga classes, swimming classes, Zumba classes and more.

To stay up to date on these activities, visit the Neighborhood Navigators Facebook page or register for any activity by completing this form.

Se puede contactar con Julio Garcia Jimenez, reportero en espaol, enviando un correoa jjimenez@vaildaily.com. Sgalo en Instagram @juliooomar. Vail Daily Spanish reporter Julio Garcia Jimenez can be contacted by sending an email to jjimenez@vaildaily.com. Follow him on Instagram @juliooomar.

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Conquering mountains: Neighborhood Navigators and The Cycle Effect team up to promote physical health and women's empowerment - Vail Daily News

Where have you been finding inspiration during quarantine? Photo provided by Micah McKenzie

Now its more important than ever to support local businesses and makers. While local artists would typically be showcasing their art at the Birmingham Art Crawl right about now, its postponement has led to new avenues for artists to share their work.We asked five local artists how theyve been creating during quarantine. Heres what theyve been up to.

Founded in 2014, the Birmingham Art Crawl was started to give local artists an avenue to share their work through regular community events. Each month artists were given a physical space in downtown Birmingham to display and share their talents.

Now that social distancing is encouraged and large crowds are avoided, artists must find other avenues for sharing their art, such as social media and word-of-mouth.

Like many small businesses in Birmingham, local artists and makers have been affected by COVID-19. We want to shine a light on some of the Birmingham Art Crawl artists for a little extra TLC. Lets meet some of them!

About: You may remember seeing this name in our previous guide to black-owned retail shops and creative services. Yogi Dada paints, makes jewelry and is a performing artistor what Id like to call a BOSS.

I am an artist who creates beautiful things for humans. I believe in the philosophy of Dadaism, art is truly whatever you believe it is.

Like many of us, quarantine has been challenging for Yogi Dada. Shes taken time to enjoy nature and reflect on what she was purposed to do from childhoodcreate. Self-isolation has allowed her to grow and acknowledge the duality of frailty and strength within her. Were all human so we should give ourselves room to operate as one.

I have had several creations that have brought me joy during [quarantine], one of them being my garden. Every human ought to grow something. I also have my first Yogi Dada fabric print from my Go Back to Africa canvas series. The fabric is so beautiful and bright I decided to have it mounted on canvas stretchers.Lastly, I truly enjoyed creating 12 hand-painted face masks for a personal friend and his family. Hes a white brother who wanted to support my artwork and show solidarity during heightened racial tensions. He requested African symbols, or whatever I was feeling, to introduce racial acceptance and unity to his family. That warmed my soul.

About: Micah is a visual artist and aspiring performance artist. As a recent grad from UAB, her art is greatly inspired by the African religion, African Disapora and culture. Using whatever medium best conveys the story shes telling (oil paint, tile, digital photography, etc.), there is no limit to her creations.

Growing up I learned how to take my insecurities and dispel them by reimagining who I was and painting what I wanted to be. All I wanted was to be strong and confident so thats what I began to paint as a way to heal myself. I still use art as a healing mechanism, but I also make art to help other people as well.

Micah pulls inspiration from Frida Kahlos vulnerability and strength as a female artist as well as her husband who is a fellow artist. Being around his creative energy helps keep her motivated and inspired.

For Micah, staying inspired during a time of self-quarantine, global pandemic, and unjust killings of people of color has been difficult. I couldnt agree more. However, shes using this time to be in tune with her emotions all while transforming them into art.

Ive definitely learned about myself in this time that its very important for me and my art practice to stay spiritually connected to the earth. Ive also been trying my hardest to preserve a childlike spirit. We honestly can learn so much from children. Imagine what the world would be if we all embraced the curiosity, fearlessness, imagination and love that we once had as children.

About: First of all, Id like to note that Brysons bio sounds like a scene out of a dreamy A24, coming-of-age movie. This Birmingham artist was born out west where he lived in the desert until his family moved to The Magic City. After getting kicked out of art class in high school, Bryson took a bit of a hiatus but now hes back as a full-time artist and even has a book on the way.

I remember being enamored by the beauty of the forest and fireflies, it was just so different and magical. Nature is one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to my art, climbing magnolia trees as a child is still one of my favorite memories to this day.

Bryson pulls inspiration from his exploration of different music genres. Since he was young, he has experienced synesthesia where one sensory experience activated another sense involuntarily. An example would be the hearing of colors. Dope, right?!

During quarantine, the current world events have fueled his passion for art. Although unconventional, this year helped him realize his potential to heal others through art. At the end of the day, were all in the same boat and our differences are what make us beautiful.

For me its all about planting seeds of love and hope with my art, bridging the generational gap by reaching out to the inner child in everyone, and just having fun, a lot of healing can be had when we have fun

About: While working on her Master of Visual Arts Education at UAB, Canne creates amazing ceramics that serve as a source of interest and beauty. With every piece, she takes into consideration living spaces and communities shes involved with. Her designs are meant to feel familiar yet ambiguous.

Over the past few months, Canne has been finding inspiration in unique places. Although it doesnt always show in her work, shes inspired by the resiliency of plants, the empowerment of tools and passageways being used as movement through time.

When shes not busy creating, Canne volunteers at Camp Winnataska where shes been helping develop a Sustainability area on the campgrounds.

I (with lots of help) have planted a vegetable garden that we hope our campers could enjoy and learn from. The garden is only one aspect of the whole space,including animals and rainwater collection. So, Im really proud of that project. I wouldnt surprise myself if I drew a few tomatoes and raised beds on some upcoming work.

About: Ever since her mom taught her too sew, Sarah has always had her hands in some kind of art. After discovering printmaking in college, she combined her love for sewing and printmaking to help create Green Pea Press at Lowe Mill where she started screen printing original designs. You could consider her a master at creating beautiful, functional textiles.

I find my inspiration for my prints from objects I see as I go about my everyday, by going outside, traveling, looking at books or magazines and of course the internet is a never-ending source of inspiration. I look for the beauty in everything I see. A large amount of my inspiration comes from nature.

During thesedare I sayuncertain times, Sarah finds inspiration in nature. One good thing quarantine has given us is the opportunity to slow down and enjoy some much-needed time outdoors.

I am not a fan of uncertainty and worry. It is super hard not knowing when this will all end and how. And the worry really is hard to push away. I have found that by keep up with my yoga and my spiritual practice (which consists of journaling, pulling from my tarot/oracle deck, mixed with meditation and breathwork). This all helps keep some of this at bay.

Sarahs been using quarantine to experiment a bit with natural dyes, new block prints and a traditional Korean patchwork method known as Pojagi.

Shes also been taking time to give back to the community. Artists are having a hard time right now since many of their shows have been canceled. Since we cant meet in person, Sarahs been showcasing her art on Etsy. Some of the proceeds are donated to the North Alabama Food Bank as well as TKO Society Inc.

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5 Birmingham artists to keep on your radar + what they've been up to in quarantine - Bham Now

Although official NAIDOC Week has been postponed until November amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,Metro Northhas put together a stellar Virtual NAIDOC Week lineup to help spotlight talented and inspiring Indigenous Australians.

PEDESTRIAN.TV sat down with QueenMode Collective book club founder and proud Mamu womanLauren Appoto discuss female empowerment, the Black Lives Matter movement, and of course, books.

Basically, QueenMode Collective uses the power of reading to help educate and empower women of colour in an attempt to sharpen the way [their] readers see the world themselves included.

Its necessary to write, publish and read books that normalise our humanity and existence. We want to read stories about black people thriving, not just surviving. We explore books about black people falling in love, exploring life and living as their authentic selves, Lauren explained.

Lauren, who has been an avid reader her whole life as a way to cope with stress and mental health, started out by simply posting her favourite books (primarily Black narratives) on social media. But after growing a bit of a following on her own, she was approached by the team at QueenMode, who helped her turn her love of reading into a thriving community. And boy, is it thriving.

We decided to create a virtual book club as a sign of appreciation or a love letter to black women in our community. A space to showcase, promote and broadcast black women and HERstory, she told PEDESTRIAN.TV.

But although the book club focuses on primarily Black narratives, the community is open for women of all ages and backgrounds to come, learn and empower each other through their love of reading. Honestly, what more could you ask for?

Theres no age or race criteria to join the virtual bookclub, you just need an open mind and a desire to be a part of an empowering community.

Id like our members to continue learning through reading and to discover something new, Lauren said of the group.

The closed Facebook group boasts around 1,000 members, who are free to join in live discussions and share their thoughts in a safe, empowering community of like-minded women. They also share their recommendations on Instagram,if youre not really a book club person.

Following the death ofGeorge Floydand the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a huge spike in interest for Black narratives, so I asked Lauren (bookworm-to-bookworm) for her recommendations for books we should all be reading right now.

Outside of the virtual book club and her personal recommendations, Lauren also urged people to listen to Black voices if theyre trying to educate themselves on the BLM movement and Black deaths in custody.

There are a range of very knowledgeable , passionate and articulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices that are accessible for you to tap into, she said, before reminding us that it isnt Aboriginal peoples responsibility to do the work for us when it comes to education (which is very true).

Our Activists talk about these issues every day so there is mountains of information available to you.

You can hear Lauren talk on stress management, mindfulness and positive representation of First Nations women as part of Metro Norths virtual NAIDOC Week celebrations here.

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This Virtual Book Club Is A Female & POC-Empowering Safe Haven To Read & Learn Together - Pedestrian TV

Everyone needs to experience joy, perhaps especially as the country navigates a pandemic, political divisiveness and the tumultuous struggle for racial justice. Through dance and philanthropy, the Vermont Dance Alliance and the Black Freedom Fund are working to help people nurture their joy and support racial equality in the Green Mountain State and beyond.

In late June the alliance, a statewide nonprofit that supports dance artists, released the video "TRACES 2020 Virtual Performance." It's the pandemic-era version of the group's annual one-day event. Since 2017, TRACES performers have danced outside in Burlington on sidewalks, alongside public sculptures, on the waterfront where audiences encountered them by design or by chance.

This year, the 11.5-minute video, produced by South Burlington's Extensity Creative, features 31 dancers of all ages performing 30- to 60-second pieces in backyards and woods, on picnic benches and industrial stairs. The pieces are elegantly interwoven and set to music by local musicians. It's the most intriguing and satisfying dance video this viewer has seen in a long time. Clever, energetic and filled with surprises, the video exudes joy and captures normally ephemeral live dance as a forever-accessible gem.

"People need this outlet of movement and connection to community," said Burlington's Hanna Satterlee, founder and executive director of the Vermont Dance Alliance. The group hasn't sponsored in-person events since the pandemic began and won't for a long time, she said. Hungry for interaction, participants enjoyed Zoom rehearsals and collaborating on the video; the alliance is sponsoring more dance video projects as a result. For example, on Monday it launched Dancing Digitally, a five-week interactive series on five local choreographers' new works.

"TRACES 2020" also came at a time when alliance board members "wanted to give back immediately to an organization working for racial and social justice," Satterlee said. After considering numerous national groups, they discovered the Vermont-based Black Freedom Fund, which perfectly fits the alliance's mission of empowerment. Just before the credits at the end of the video, viewers are invited to donate.

Christal Brown is an artist, educator, entrepreneur and chair of the dance program at Middlebury College. In early June, she launched the Black Freedom Fund to support Black artists, families and entrepreneurs who are under-resourced due to COVID-19 or other challenges. Through it, she said, she aims not only to provide monetary gifts but also to help create the conditions that support joy.

"Most of the things that we relish in this country that are African American made are from the outgrowth of joy, not pain," Brown said. "The publicity of the pain overshadows the joy of the music, the dancing, the love. It overshadows a lot of the work we've done to be able to be joyful people."

Brown appreciates using "TRACES 2020" as a vehicle to raise funds because the video exemplifies the complexity of bridging different life experiences. Just as performers must understand each person's part, so must we "recognize what goes into each person's reality" to change systems of racism and oppression, Brown said. The collaboration of the alliance and the Black Freedom Fund is "a way of leveraging our realities."

In the Middlebury area, where Brown and her young son are among the few Black residents, her neighbors and allies recently began asking for advice on how to support racial justice.

One day she responded, "'I can do this. I can make something for you. Hold on. Give me a minute,'" she recalled. Almost that quickly, Brown created the Black Freedom Fund under the auspices of her nonprofit company INSPIRIT.

"There's a pain point that's happening right now, and there's a lot of confusion," she said. "When change happens, it has to happen person to person ... in a meaningful way. I wanted to stand in the gap between different communities" by making it easier to give.

In less than a month, the Black Freedom Fund's crowdsourcing campaign surpassed its $10,000 goal and the gifts keep coming. As of Tuesday, 184 people had made donations of $20 to $1,000, totaling $14,457; some businesses had also donated, bringing the total even higher.

Brown put $10,000 in an investment fund and is using the overage to make a gift of about $500 each month. Through professional and personal networks, she identifies recipients around the country for whom that amount would be significant. To date, there's enough to last about 14 months; after that she'll begin drawing from the investment's accruing interest.

A recent gift went to a man with whom Brown grew up in Kinston, S.C. Initially, he got caught up in crime, but after seeing many of his friends die or be drawn into "the prison pipeline of a small town where there's no opportunity," Brown said, "he totally flipped his life around." He's now married, has a son and is a generous force in his community, serving meals to the homeless, doing fund drives and cooking for neighbors, according to Brown. The man recently underwent a leg amputation and cannot work while waiting for the prosthetic. The Black Freedom Fund covered his July rent.

"Black joy is a reservoir," Brown said, that allows people to persevere despite loss, pain and misfortune. Sometimes a gift can help refill it.

Link:

Vermont Dance Alliance and Black Freedom Fund Partner to Empower - Seven Days

Send news about your local business to MWBusiness@wickedlocal.com. We're interested in news about business people, expansions, openings and community involvement by MetroWest businesses and business people. Follow Daily News Business Editor Bob Tremblay on Twitter @Bob Tremblay_MW.

Center for Vein Restoration opens in Framingham

Center for Vein Restoration (CVR) recently announced the opening of its flagship location in Framingham. The location marks the 19th state to have a CVR location and the furthest east facility of the bi-coastal organization. The office, which overlooks Sucker Pond, is led by Dr. Pamela Kim, one of the newer physicians to join the company. Kim has dedicated her education and research efforts to the study of vascular surgery and phlebology, making her the perfect fit for the national practice exclusively focused on veins and venous disorders, according to CVR. The company is the largest physician-led practice treating vein disease in the country. With 80 centers and growing, CVR has more than 500 employees and conducts over 200,000 patient interactions annually. For more information, visit http://www.centerforvein.com.

MutualOne awards $7,000 to Family Promise Metrowest

Mark R. Haranas, president and CEO of MutualOne Bank and chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, has announced a $7,000 grant to support the Local Initiative for Family Empowerment (LIFE) program at Family Promise Metrowest in Natick. The LIFE program is a homelessness prevention program supporting families with children who are not yet homeless, but are at risk of eviction, said Executive Director Sue Crossley. The grant was among awards totaling $63,960 in the foundations most recent round of funding. Established in 1998 as the philanthropic arm of MutualOne Bank, the Framingham-based foundation has since donated more than $4.8 million to charitable, educational and civic initiatives designed to improve and enrich the quality of life in Framingham, Natick and surrounding communities.

Framingham credit union announces scholarship winners

MetroWest Community Federal Credit Union in Framingham recently announced that Joseph Harrington of Ashland High School and Andrew Xu of Belmont High School are this years Richard J. Callahan Memorial Scholarship recipients. Both students excelled academically as they graduated in the top 15% of their schools respectively, but what truly differentiated these two from other candidates was their community service, according to the credit union. Over the course of his high school career, Xu accumulated more than 1,000 volunteer hours between Mount Auburn Hospital, Boston Childrens Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Over the same period, Harrington accumulated more than 300 volunteer hours at Ashland Youth Baseball and made several large donations via fundraisers for organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Jimmy Fund and many more. Callahan, a lifelong resident of Framingham, served on the credit union board for more than 40 years. Scholarships in the amount of $1,000 were awarded to both recipients in Callahan's memory. He died in 2018.

Eversource restarts in-person energy efficiency services

In an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of customers and contractors while also providing money and energy-saving solutions, Eversource is implementing new health and safety guidelines for the restart of energy efficiency services in customer homes and businesses. Eversource worked with Environmental Health & Engineering, a health and safety consulting firm, to develop guidelines specific to energy efficiency work. These guidelines include the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing and enhanced sanitizing requirements in line with the latest recommendations and industry best practices for reducing the spread of COVID-19. For more information, visit Eversource.com.

Dr. Rene Moran Medical Aesthetics Spa re-opens in Newton

Dr. Rene Moran, owner of Dr. Rene Moran Medical Aesthetics of Newton Centre, has teamed up with Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Wellness Coach Jennifer Hanway to offer clients a holistic approach to skincare, body contouring and health. The medical spa is now open and is one of the only in the state to offer nutrition services in conjunction with treatments such as Botox, HydraFacials, CoolTone and CoolSculpting to enhance their results with the proper health and wellness approaches customized for each patient. For more information, visit http://www.drmoran.com.

About: Founded in 1941, MetroWest Community Federal Credit Union is fully committed to helping individuals in local communities manage their financial needs by offering a wide range of affordable savings and loan products. For more information, visit mwcfcu.com/About-MetroWest.

Marcus Saint-Louis | Marketing & Business Development Rep.

MetroWest Community Federal Credit Union

200 Concord St. Framingham MA 01702-8384

508-879-5522 Ext.212 | msaint-louis@mwcfcu.com

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Five items on business for July 10, 2020 - News - Enterprise News

When I needed to donate a box of vegetables recently, I called a nonprofit in my Queens neighborhood in Queens, New York, that organizes low-wage immigrant workers. The organizer, Will Rodriguez, said, You know, Rinku, we dont usually do this stuff, but we just had to jump in because the need is so great. People are suffering so much.

By this stuff, he meant mutual aid, in which members of a community work together to meet each others urgent needs. Normally, the day laborers and domestic workers who are members of his organization, New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), work t on direct-action campaigns to fight exploitation and advocate for their rights. But the pandemic has pushed them into organizing mutual aid around food.

They are not alone. In recent months, members of progressive direct-action organizations have developed new systems for checking on their neighbors, dropping off food and medicine, providing protective personal equipment to incarcerated family members, and giving cash to those suddenly unemployed.

Combining mutual aid and direct action might seem like common sense, but in todays corporatized and professionalized nonprofit world, this model had disappeared almost completely. Community-based nonprofits in the United States today are split into distinct silos, with service provision firmly compartmentalized in one box and direct-action organizing in another.

The roots of this split lie in the increasing professionalization of the sector over half a century, driven by sexism, classism and racism.

Throughout American history, mutual aid societies existed wherever poor, disenfranchised people could be found. During and immediately after slavery, free Black people formed mutual aid societies to provide resources denied them by the white community. The first was the Free African Society of Philadelphia, founded in the 1770s to provide a place to worship and financial resources to members. Similar organizations soon sprung up in New York, New Orleans and Newport, Rhode Island, providing non-denominational spiritual guidance and resources such as banks, schools, burial societies, newspapers, and food. W.E.B. DuBois called these the first wavering step of a people toward organized social life.

These organizations threatened the racial status quo. Charleston shut down the Free Dark Men of Color in the 1820s for fear of slave insurrections and Maryland made it a felony to join a mutual aid society in 1842. Despite the crackdowns, thousands more societies formed after the Civil War. Decades later, these self-organized groups would become the infrastructure of the Civil Rights Movement and the inspiration for the Black Panthers, who famously served free breakfasts and health programs alongside their fight against police brutality and exploitation.

European immigrant communities of the 19th and 20th centuries, too, relied on cooperative efforts to learn English, find decent housing, and resist labor abuse. Incorporating a mix of mutual aid, community organizing, and legislative campaigning, the social reformer Jane Addams founded Chicagos Hull House in 1889, sparking a movement that counted more than 400 settlement houses within 20 years. In the late 1890s, Addams training of settlement house volunteers became the basis of early social work college programs.

The settlement houses social reform projects, including sanitation reform, womens suffrage, temperance, legislation against child labor, and labor law, were eventually into the New Deal. The Social Security Act of 1935 created pensions for the elderly, care for the disabled, a state-run medical insurance program for the poor, and unemployment insurance. But the legislation, reflecting the prevailing racism, excluded domestic and farm workers in a compromise that ensured that Southern Democrats and the agricultural industry would still have access to cheap labor.

Left to fend for themselves, those workers relied on mutual aid even as they organized for change. Leaders like Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Jane Patterson founded the Colored Womens League in 1892 to generate racial uplift through self-help. Thyra J. Edwards, virtually unknown in mainstream social work history, was also a trained journalist. These women made lynching their top priority.

Despite political action among social workers of all races, Saul Alinsky is the white man credited with codifying the social action elements. Starting in Chicagos Back of the Yards neighborhood in the 1930s, Alinsky eventually became the nations most famous community organizer by starting with local issues to rally people for broader political change.

The Alinsky model featured highly professionalized, well-paid organizers who kept any radical politics to themselves. The IAF also had a distinctly male culture. Alinsky expected organizers to work around the clock; women, he thought, were too delicate, even if he didnt publicly discourage them from the work.

Alinskys influential rules saw servicesmostly organized by and provided by womenonly as a means to direct action campaigning. By the time the National Association of Social Workers was formed in 1955, providing services via casework and organizing for systemic change had become distinct streams of social work. Philanthropists, too, viewed these functions as separate, driving far more resources to apoliticized service provision than they did to community organizing. When I was learning to organize in the late 1980s, I was consistently told that self-help schemes, lending circles, and cooperative businesses had little to do with real organizing.

Today, though, a new generation of activists is erasing that distinction. The pandemic, in particular, has clarified that organizing cannot be divorced from actually helping people. Some activists fear that politicians will try to replace government care with community care, or that mutual aid will absorb all of our energy, leaving nothing for political fights.

But especially in times when the state dramatically fails to deliver what people need, mutual aid is a powerful way, sometimes even the only way, to help people manage daily life while sustaining their spirits in the struggle for systemic change. Mutual aid fuels the audacity to demand more because it reinforces that we are not alone in our suffering.

Rinku Sen is a longtime journalist, racial justice strategist, and former executive director of Race Forward. She is the author of Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy. She wrote this for Zcalo Public Square.

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Community organizations are returning to their 19th century roots - Press-Enterprise

As cities across the country consider ways that they can address the growing inequities throughout their communities, an important element is where a municipalitys money is located and how it is leveraged for greater social impact. As cities begin to set a path for economic recovery post-COVID-19, local leaders should consider their municipalitys relationship with its financial partners as another means towards eliminating economic inequities caused by institutional racism and financial exclusion.

By now, millions of Americans have received their stimulus funds as part of the federal COVID-19 relief CARES Act legislation. This includes 120 million direct deposit payments, 35 million paper checks mailed to residents of cities and towns across the country and 4 million payments via pre-paid debit card. For most of these people, payments were deposited into their trusted financial institution a bank or credit union. But for many others particularly low wage essential workers such as grocery clerks, childcare workers, security guards, and ride-share drivers who lack access to a bank account they relied on high-cost alternative financial services. These services include check cashers or pawn shops which they used to access the funds minus a substantial fee many cannot afford.

There are roughly 5,200 FDIC-insured commercial banks and savings institutions in the U.S. Among the five largest are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and U.S. Bank. These traditional banks offer customers services beyond just checking/savings accounts, they also provide a variety of financial products from home mortgages, car loans, to small business and personal loans. But these institutions and services, are not typically available in Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color (BIPoC) because of discriminatory redlining practices authorized by the Federal Housing Administration in partnership with state and local governments, and the private industry. The legacy of redlining has led to decades of disinvestment in social, housing and economic services. As a result, many BIPoC communities have a large share of check cash financial services and are home to thousands of unbanked households households that do not have an account at a banking institution.

In 2017, an FDIC study found that approximately 8.4 million households were unbanked and an additional 24.2 million were underbanked (households with a checking or savings account but who also obtained predatory financial services outside of the banking system). Also, nearly half of Latinx (43 percent) and Black (47 percent) households are either unbanked or underbanked. Instead, these households rely on predatory alternative financial services such as check cashers or pawn shops.

Several of the top large banks have racially discriminatory patterns that are well-documented when it comes to locating branches and making loans. These practices include charging Black and Latinx individuals higher fees and rates on mortgages, targeting undocumented immigrants and Indigenous communities to open accounts and lines of credit without their knowledge and even racial discriminatory hiring practices. In addition, the shuttering of Black-owned banks leaves fewer options for financial services particularly for businesses owned by people of color.

Recently, more cities are looking at the creation of public banks as a potential solution. In 2019, the state of California passed legislation that would allow up to 10 cities or counties to create public banks. This legislation has moved several cities like Long Beach, San Francisco, and others to look at the possibilities. This momentum builds off the state-owned Bank of North Dakota (BND) currently the only public bank operating in the US. BND prioritizes public access over profit and offers fair banking services to North Dakotans when private banks cant or wont. It does this through a partnership with other financial institutions and serving as the backstop for those loans that private banks dont feel they can offer.

In addition to supporting public banks, cities can play a key role connecting more BIPoC, and low-income residents, to financial services through established financial institutions that prioritize safe, affordable, and wealth-building financial products and services. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and credit unions are among them. How to do this?

It is important for local leaders to be aware of their citys financial partners and what they do. Cities can conduct an impact analysis to determine how current financial services affect residents and how such services can improve the lives of BIPOC and low-income people, and as a result the overall financial health of their municipality. A few questions to consider:

Once you have the collective information you can then see how or if there is an opportunity to leverage your municipal financial activities in a way to build a stronger community for all of your residents.

Now more than ever, city leaders have an opportunity to alleviate unfair and unjust economic conditions that have resulted from years of institutional and structural racism, and an opportunity to build wealth in Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. A citys financial security depends on the financial security of all its residents through partnerships with community-oriented financial institutions and innovative strategies such as public banking equitable financial inclusion can become a reality.

About the Authors:

Katherine Carter is a senior specialist with NLCs Race, Equity And Leadership department. Katherine oversees REALs 2020 Cities Responding to Racial Tension National Technical Assistance Cohort, which aims to strengthen local leaders knowledge and capacity to sustain community conversations on race relations, justice, and equity.

Patrick Hain is the Program Manager for Economic Opportunity and Financial Empowerment in the NLC Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

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How Equitable Access to Banking Improves Economic Conditions for Everyone - CitiesSpeak

Is your life what you imagined it would be? From the many conversations I have had over the years for too many the answer is no. They tell me that life gets in the way, circumstances change, and they find themselves with responsibilities. Or they tell me that life doesnt work like that or they just havent had their lucky break yet. Or maybe theyre waiting for the right moment. And so it goes on.

Did you know that nothing changes unless you change it? If you want to live the life you imagine that you can live, should live, or want to live, then you have to be the one in control. Its not always easy. If you dont feel empowered to direct and control your life, it can get away from you.

No matter what you are seeking - more wealth, less weight, a happier marriage, a better job it can only happen if you do something about it. Tired of people treating you poorly? Do something about it. Tired of being sick and unhealthy? Do something about it. Want your kids to do what they are told without ever arguing? Do. well, that might be impossible, but you can make it better. The point is, nothing changes if nothing changes. If you want something to be better, its up to each of us to take the necessary steps to see that it happens.

Personal empowerment is a collection of beliefs, actions and skills all working together to help you live a life that you design. Personal empowerment begins with a bit of self-awareness. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses. Its important to have a positive but realistic view of yourself.

The awareness thats required doesnt stop with your skills and abilities. It also includes your values and your goals. To be empowered you have to know what you want for your life and why.

Imagine deciding to choose a career based simply on the salary you might earn. Some people do make this choice; however, if theyre not motivated by money or dont feel like their values are aligned with their career choice, ultimately theyll end up unhappy and unsatisfied. The characteristics of empowerment are important.

Another element or component of personal empowerment is a positive mindset and a belief in yourself. Its not enough to want to achieve a goal; you have to know that you are capable of achieving your goal. If you dont, you wont.

Finally, while its not talked about often as a dimension of personal or self-empowerment, its also important to be ready, willing, and able to go after what you want. Someone can set goals and then plan and learn for years. However, if they dont actually follow through and take action, nothing happens.

When we think about what Personal empowerment is it comes down to belief in yourself, and follow-through. Its important because without some degree of personal empowerment, your life will live you. Youll continue to be a victim of circumstance and youll continue to live a life that isnt really what you want.

You might be wondering if these dimensions of personal empowerment are something that youre born with or if they need to be learned?

Thats a topic I will cover in the next post.

_________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading! You can find more of my articles at Paul Duxbury - Learning and Development in Focus

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What Is Personal Empowerment and Why Is It Important?

TransUnion survey highlights consumer media consumption and generational differences

CHICAGO, June 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- COVID-19 has brought on many changes in the way people consume media with more than half of Americans (56%) saying they are using paid streaming services at a higher rate today than before the pandemic. As shelter-in-place mandates begin to lift, a new TransUnion (TRU) survey found that these new media consumption behaviors will likely continue with 45% of consumers saying they will make paid streaming services a permanent part of life moving forward.

As consumers use of paid streaming services (including platforms such as Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix and Apple TV) has increased, so too has the amount of time they are using them. Consumers said their usage increased from 12 hours per day prior to the pandemic to an average of 34 as of the week of May 18th. More than one-third of consumers surveyed spent at least five hours daily with streamed media. This was most prominent for consumers in the 18-29 year-old age group as 66% of these respondents indicated an increase of daily viewing.

The use of digital platforms has accelerated as younger generations seek more control and flexibility over how they consume content, said Matt Spiegel, executive vice president and head of the media vertical at TransUnion. In todays global, tech-driven economy, this consumption is occurring across multiple channels and devices as consumers shift away from traditional cable and broadcast. To account for this profound shift in consumption behaviors, advertisers need greater insight into the people behind the devices to gain a more holistic picture of the connected consumer.

Consumers are not only streaming more content, but also subscribing to more platforms since the onset of the pandemic. The percentage of consumers subscribed to 35 streaming services increased to 48%, up from 37% prior to COVID-19. Furthermore, the cord-cutting trend continues to gain a foothold in the media ecosystem with 53% of consumers indicating they use a subscription streaming service in place of a traditional cable TV package. The generational divide regarding this trend was most evident among younger consumers as they were most likely to belong to the cord-cutting group.

Youngest Consumers Cutting the Cord at the Highest Rate

The survey found that SmartTV was the most popular streaming device overall with 37% using this platform. Age demographics played a role in terms of streaming device preference as consumers in the 1829 age group also preferred mobile devices (25%) for streaming while those in the 3044 demographic had a preference for OTT devices (19%). Meanwhile older age groups such as those 60+ demonstrated the highest preference toward SmartTVs (41%), with their next choice for streaming being computers. However, streaming as a whole may still be a fairly new concept as 19% indicated they do not stream content at all.

As more consumers leverage digital channels and look for entertainment options in the comfort of their homes, its important to take a pulse check as to how consumer behaviors are changing and have changed since the onset of the pandemic. These insights will be instrumental to advertisers as they adapt their positioning and targeting in the marketplace to create more relevant experiences, said Spiegel.

TransUnions suite of identity, audience and insights solutions help marketers and media companies understand and reach the consumers on the other side of the screen. To learn more, please visit https://www.transunion.com/media-consumption.

About the Survey

The online survey was conducted the week of May 18, 2020 and included responses from 2,639 U.S. consumers, ages 18 and over.

About TransUnion (TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

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Consumers Using Paid Streaming Services More as a Result of COVID-19; Trend May Be Here to Stay - Yahoo Finance

On May 25, 2020, unarmed, 46-year old Minneapolis resident George Floyd died after being restrained by officer Derek Chauvin whose knee was lodged into his neck as he lay handcuffed, face down in the street for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Considered a gentle giant by family members, friends and co-workers because of his height, George Floyd was an African American man who was arrested by Chauvin, a white police officer, for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a local grocery store. Before his death at a local hospital about an hour later, bystanders watched as Chauvin maintained pressure on George Floyds neck as three other officers did absolutely nothing to stop what clearly was an intrusive use of force. All of these actions were captured on the camera phones of nearby onlookers attempting to help yet another Black man immobilized by the police.

In the last eleven years, mobile technology has become a communications staple for vulnerable populations, particularly smartphones. Twenty-five percent of African Americans and 23 percent of Latinos are smartphone-dependent, carrying the medium as their primary mode of communication. In recent years, individuals, who have witnessed physical encounters between citizens and the police, recorded them, sometimes revealing the depth of the institutional terror waged on Black people by law enforcement.

With the long history in America of violence against Black people, the ubiquity of video recordings has recast the narrative surrounding police violence and heightened public concerns about law enforcement. In todays world, virtually anyone can be a videographer and filmmaker. The combination of smart phones, video recording apps, and social media platforms have generated a revolution in public empowerment. Rather than having to take the word of African Americans over the police, people can see the violence for themselves and demand justice.

These factors should explain why recorded observations of police brutality against African Americans trigger protests, even during a global pandemic. Technology is becoming part of the story regarding how marginalized populations in the U.S. and across the world are recording injustice and thereby, gaining personal empowerment. Leveraging the internet, civilian-generated video content can move public opinion toward more critical views of law enforcement and mass incarceration.

The troubling pattern

In the Floyd case, videos taken by onlookers camera phones showed his final moments as he screamed out three words, I cant breathe! followed by cry for help to his deceased mother. The recordings reminded people of the same phrase previously heard from another unarmed Black male named Eric Garner, who was placed in a tight chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo in Staten Island, New York. After being arrested on July 17, 2014 for allegedly selling single cigarettes from a carton without a tax stamp, Garners physical exchange with law enforcement ended with him on the ground, turned on his side to stabilize his breathing until his death an hour later at a local hospital. After seeing Eric Garner overpowered by police, more than 50 national demonstrations rejecting Pantaleos actions erupted. One month later these would be followed by the protests and riots in Ferguson, Missouri, after Officer Darren Wilson failed to be charged for killing unarmed 18-year old Michael Brown after he was accused of stealing cheap cigars and shoving a convenience store clerk. Three years after Browns death, surveillance footage revealed a non-violent African American male in a convenience store, countering Officer Wilsons story.

George Floyds fate is shockingly similar to those of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and the countless others whose lives were shortened by police brutality. The recordings of his encounter sparked protests among thousands of Minnesotans and out-of-state protestors, demanding that all four officers be immediately fired and charged. Five days later, Chauvin would be charged with third-degree murder and within days of transferring his case to the states attorney general, Keith Ellison, the charges were upgraded. Ten days into the national protests, the remaining three officers were charged with aiding and abetting in the crime that caused Mr. Floyds death.

Why are police shootings more visible?

Not since the painful images of the open casket for Black teenager Emmett Till in 1955 has all of America seen what racial violence looks like in the U.S. Emmetts mother, Mamie Till Bradley, decided to televise his funeral with an open casket, allowing mourners in person and on television to see his mangled stature, swollen face, and body after being brutally attacked in the South.

Despite Trayvon Martins fatal encounter with White vigilante George Zimmerman not being videotaped, the 17-year olds death in 2012 was probably the next most powerful image of an unarmed, Black man in a hoodie, that invoked suspicion of this young student who was walking in his mothers neighborhood.

But before Martin, the murder of 22-year old, Oakland native, Oscar Grant, was the first police brutality incident to be recorded and shared via an early generation smartphone. Grant, whose story was later told in the 2013 movie Fruitvale Station, was fatally shot after being handcuffed and restrained by two Bay Area Rapid Transit Officers working for Oaklands public transit system. Bystanders used their camera phones to capture the moments when unarmed Grant stood up only to be pushed back to the ground and shot by one of the police officers within seconds. But this video did not reach the scale of online audience of others, mainly because social media companies like Twitter and Facebook, as well as other online platforms, were not as quite mature. Compared to its 2.6 billion subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, Facebook only reported 150 million users at that time, which contained the images of activism around Oscar Grants death to the Oakland area, where several days of protesting occurred.

1 in 1,000 African American men have a higher chance of being killed by the police over their lifetime, according to 2019 research. The deaths of Black women follow, despite the lack of national visibility on their cases. The 2015 police body cam footage of Sandra Bland showed a violent slamming of her body to the ground after being stopped during a routine traffic stop in Waller, Texas. Three days later, she would be found dead in her jail cell, which the chief medical examiner ruled a suicide. The recent police shooting of EMT Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, has gained greater profile during the protests, especially as its been shared that she was shot at least 8 times during a police search warrant executed at the wrong home. To raise the profile of Black women and girls shot by police in the national debate, legal advocate, Kimberlee Crenshaw, launched an online campaign, #SayHerName to tell their stories.

Even when theres video, indictments of police are not easy

One of the few cases where a video recording led to an indictment of an officer was the death of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina. Scott, an unarmed Black man was shot in his back as he ran from a routine traffic stop in 2015. After his death, the arresting Officer Michael Slager tried to lie about what happened, but an onlooker, Feiden Santana, recorded the entire incident on his cell phone. The recording and Santanas testimony were presented in court, resulting in a 20-year sentence in jail for this rogue cop.

But incriminating footage from camera phones may not always result in charges being filed against a given police officer(s). Even with a video, it took five years in the Eric Garner case to fire Pantaleo, due to a lengthy federal investigation and a strong New York City police union who decried any punitive actions against him. In 2019, Attorney General William Barr ordered the case to be closed. In Baltimore, the very public arrest of African American Freddie Gray in 2015, followed by the immediate indictments of all six police officers by States Attorney Marilyn Mosby, still resulted in no convictions.

Immediately after George Floyds death, President Donald J. Trump asked the Department of Justice and FBI to expedite the investigation into the details. But that all shifted within one week when the White House leaned into the protests and started focusing on far-left groups, progressive anarchists, and bona fide criminals, all of whom they suggested were infiltrating legitimate protests. Attorney General Barr would soon announce an investigation into far-left groups, like Antifa, despite the presence of known white supremacist disrupters driving some of the looting and violence in various cities.

And now, President Trumps new focus on law and order, rather than the restoration of democracy and racial healing, is increasing the proliferation of surveillance by the police and military to censure these ongoing mass protests around the country. The images and videos of military de-escalation tactics that include tear gas drops and batons from protestors camera phones are as equally disturbing as the recording of Floyds murder. In various cities, some police are also deploying facial-recognition-technologies to scan the crowds of protestors and gathering location data to improve upon protest surveillance and restraint.

Technology brings pain to life

Police brutality has emerged from a history of the states invasive surveillance and persistent assaults on African Americans and their lifestyles. These recordings bring visibility to the historical terror and fear African Americans feel in the presence of police. Sometimes, these occurrences result in deadly consequences for Black people who cannot easily escape the realities of being racially profiled or targeted within and outside of their communities.

But unfortunately, despite how tragic and mentally traumatic the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the countless others have been, there will be more Black men and women dying while in police custody without the structural, behavioral and policy changes to policing in America. And before these changes are even instituted, we need a national acknowledgement that racism and discrimination have normalized violence against people of color.

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Where would racial progress in policing be without camera phones? - Brookings Institution

By: Express News Service | Pune | Published: June 9, 2020 10:24:58 pm Aaditya Thackeray, son of Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. (Express photo)

STATE MINISTER of Tourism and Environment Aaditya Thackeray called for equal access and opportunities and empowerment of women in all aspects of life. We have to recognise the key role of women in every aspect of life. I am a feminist and I support equal rights for women, Thackeray said.

The minister was speaking at an online discussion organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) Pune Chapter on Tuesday.

Asked about reservation for women, he said, More than my personal opinion, there needs to be a larger debate in society. However, we need to listen to all voices that go unheard, whether its a man, woman or child. We must try our best to create a society where you would not even need a letter of recommendation. While it may take us an entire generation to do that, we have to work on equal access and opportunities.

He also said for sustainable livelihood development of people in Maharashtra, organisations like FICCI should collaborate with the government to implement schemes and policies and reach out to people. We have to commit ourselves and abolish prejudice in the name of caste, religion and culture. Education is the only way to do it, he said.

Talking about handling the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters like Cyclone Nisarga, Thackeray said it was necessary to stay calm and carry on while understanding the situation.

We have to make available more beds, oxygen support and ventilators and make ready all medical needs till the vaccine for the coronavirus is found. Also, we were lucky while dealing with Cyclone Nisarga, as it caused minimum damage to life due to precautions taken by the government, he said.

As the state government has received flak in its handling of the migrant crisis, Thackeray said the state government had done everything to help migrants. We set up multiple camps in the state, where about 6.5 lakh people were accommodated and provided with meals and medical attention. The decision for a lockdown was not easy and it required a lot of planning. Weve spent more than Rs 90 crore on paying for Shramik trains, which ideally should be paid by the railways ministry, he said.

Addressing environmental issues, Thackeray said with the current lockdown, there had been some positive changes in the environment. We want to aim at making Pune carbon neutral by 2030, along with efforts in other cities as well, and for that we have to act and move forward. The Indian civilisation began with worshipping elements of nature. This is what gives me hope that India will lead the way in fighting climate change crisis.

Asked about reviving tourism in the state, Thackeray said since Maharashtra was a unique place with various landscapes, hills, beaches and forts, and people from different backgrounds, culture and dialects, it was necessary to boost tourism here.

Unfortunately, tourism in the state is considered unimportant, and we have to change that mindset. We want to revive tourism and involve more students and young urban townplanners, he said.

The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

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We have to empower women in all aspects of life: Aaditya Thackeray - The Indian Express

Having to put your personal dreams on hold is hard, even emotionally painful, but not as difficult or painful as the lack of equality people of color, the elderly, the homeless and others endure every day. What we are doing by peacefully supporting the cause of equality is creating more opportunity for everyone.

My personal goals are going to have to come second (or third) to the changes that our country and our world are going through. Its still a pandemic, and many people are still under quarantine and watching the world change on their televisions.

No, it is not over. More people will get sick and die, partly due to the issues that have divided our beloved country. Most unfortunately, it seems to be drawn along political lines, and not health, human nature, or even common sense is closing the divide.

The fight for equality is not over, and neither is the pandemic, but tens of thousands of mostly young people are risking it all to share their pain, and some may well be sickened and die. And they know it. Yes, some will pay the ultimate sacrifice for their beliefs. That is something we should all keep in mind.

The last time I saw as much civil protest was during the Vietnam War, and we got them to end that. Now the same methods will help change how people are treated and treat each other. When you get sad about your personal circumstances, please remember that you are making a sacrifice for a higher purpose, and that might make it a little easier.

If youve ever had a goal that didnt work out and, then a few years later, it happened bigger and better than you ever imagined, that would be a good example of what I am talking about. If we focus on the big picture and keep our talents honed, there will be more opportunity, some of which you never would have imagined if we were not going through all these changes.

Dont give up on your goals, because they are important.

In fact, you are happier by going after them than when you achieve them. The joy is mostly in the journey, and it is a ray of light in this very difficult time we are currently living in. By incorporating them into the big picture, you will find your place and the joy that comes with that.

I have a feeling Im not going to open for Ed Sheeran this year. I also think that I may have to wait a while longer for that Tesla, but that doesnt mean I have to give up on my dreams. Its just going to be a future thing.

Whats more important is that we stay healthy, become united, and get people back to work, so our lives can become somewhat normal again. And I believe that if we keep doing the right things, we surely will.

Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., LMFT, is an award-winning therapist and writer. He is a columnist, blogger and the author of seven books, including the newly released Visualization For Success 75 Psychological Empowerment Exercises To Get You What You Want In Life. Reach him via email at barton@bartongoldsmith.com

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Focusing on the big picture and supporting equality - Santa Barbara News-Press

Homosexuality was legalized in India by the Supreme Court of India in September, 2018. A five-judge bench of the top court declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as unconstitutional and held that human sexuality cannot be confined to a binary.

The judgment heralded a new dawn for personal liberty and was like a major victory for the LGBT community. They possessed the same equality as other citizens. But the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the LGBT community.

They are struggling with lack of funds, stigma, and poor mental as well as physical health. The LGBTs are already a vulnerable group and this pandemic made their life a little more difficult. International Transgender Rights groups are warning that the global coronavirus lockdown restrictions have denied healthcare to them.

It is important to consider LGBT communities in this hour of crisis for two main reasons: firstly, there are several factors which may make LGBT people more at risk of contracting the virus and secondly, because of the inequalities faced by these communities they are denied even the basic healthcare facilities.

Although there is no evidence that suggest that LGBT people are more likely to contract COVID-19 but the grim reality still remains that their individuality is still made a mockery. The concern also remains about the reduced support for LGBT people, particularly those who are homeless and not accepted by families.

The Socio Economic and Caste Census, 2011 states that rural India has 75,008 transgender people. Two key measures in defeating COVID-19 are social distancing and the use of personal protective measures. However, as most transgender people are poor and live in small houses, they do not maintain these preventive measures.

LGBT communities are impacted by HIV and this result in weak immune system. Those begging or doing sex work for their livelihood are the worst affected because they have no income now. They live in small houses in unhygienic conditions, as a result of which these areas are likely to be a hotbed for COVID-19.

Transgender staying with unsupportive family during this lockdown are dealing with stress, anxiety and trauma specially those who have undergone surgery recently. They are prone to fall into the clutches of depression because of the lack of social acceptance since ages, and thus this pandemic has increased their plight.

Higher rates on anxiety, depression and poor mental health has been linked with behaviors detrimental to their overall health including extended use of substance abuse, smoking, drinking, self harm, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies. Often they are subjected to verbal as well as physical abuse by the family members because of lack of understanding and acceptance.

They are facing lack of access to therapy, healthcare as well as medications. Most LGBT people are uneducated as their family disowned them or they quit school due to social stigma, and thus lack proper documentation which makes their access to benefits more impossible. India currently has around 4.8 lakh transgender people, as per the 2011 census data, out of whom only around 10% have a voter ID.

Even before this pandemic there was already a significant level of economic, social, moral as well as mental instability and high rates of stigmatization with them and this pandemic has just added fuel to an already burning community. Medications delays, therapies and surgeries postponed, loss in income are all part and parcel of the LGBTs, who are used to being one of the last priorities of the government.

With the coronavirus outbreak, we cannot expect the old biases to automatically be wiped off. The LGBT Foundation received numerous complaints from trans-people that they are denied access to prescribed hormone injections, although the World Health Organization and European Commission guidelines on essential services include medications to the LGBT people.

Most transgender people who are undergoing gender reassignment are either out of medicines or on the verge of running out of stock. As Dr. Michael Brady, National Advisor for LGBT Health quotes: Wherever the question is asked, LGBT people experience poorer outcomes in healthcare.

Many NGOs are helping them cope with this crisis. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) are working to empower the marginalized communities. The Karnataka Government on April 8 announced that transgender people receiving pension would get it for two months upfront and also free medicines be provided to them.

The Assam Government also provided free rations to four transgender people in Lakhimpur district. Chhattisgarh is the only state with a working Transgender Welfare Board. The need of the hour is to break the stigma attached with the LGBT community and lend a helping hand to them at this hour of crisis.

Humans have seen enough fatality during the coronavirus pandemic, so we should understand the pain, which the LGBT people go through and not deny them the right to life.

To quote Supreme Court of India: Sexual orientation is one of the many biological phenomenons. It is natural and no discrimination can exist. Any violation is against freedom of speech and expression. Morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality. Denial of self expression is like death. Who decides what is natural and what is unnatural?

Shilapa Roy is a lawyer and writer based in Guwahati. She can be reached at: [emailprotected]

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Plight of LGBT community during Covid-19 pandemic - Northeast Now

The Herald

Tendai Rupapa in BINGA

RURAL communities remain at the core of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwas empowerment programmes and yesterday she took her nationwide coronavirus awareness campaign to Binga as she leads the fight against the pandemic which has killed thousands globally.

Amai Mnangagwa is the countrys Health Ambassador, hence her interventions and efforts to mobilise resources through her Angel of Hope Foundation to prevent Covid-19.

Her visit here coincided with reports that at least 15 people who had escaped from a quarantine facility in Lupane were arrested and returned to confinement with the assistance of villagers and community leaders.

This proves that the First Ladys call for communities not to harbour escapees to prevent the spread of coronavirus is bearing fruit.

In her awareness message across the country, Amai Mnangagwa has urged rural communities to be vigilant and avoid harbouring escapees.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Richard Moyo, confirmed the development saying: In Matabeleland North, at Lupane quarantine centre, 15 returnees escaped. Villagers, chiefs and headmen from Binga worked closely with the police to identify the people who have since been taken back to the quarantine centre.

We are so happy with what the First Lady is teaching people in rural communities. She is reinforcing the message on Covid-19 and those who are here today will take the message back to their villages not to harbour escapees or border jumpers.

In all her programmes and projects, our mother is not being selective. She is visiting every corner of the country.

Zimbabwe, which is under lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in Covid-19 positive cases owing to people coming from affected countries.

In her message to the elderly in Binga, the First Lady emphasised the need for communities to work hand-in-glove with chiefs and headmen as well as health authorities to ensure quarantine measures were not violated.

As mothers, when we see our child whom we have not been staying with for a long time and coming from abroad, we sometimes fail to ask important questions like whether or not the child has been tested for Covid-19. Despite that motherly bond, let us follow the dictates of the law so as to prevent the spread of the virus.

In this time of Covid-19, this disease is not selective. It does not consider which church you go to or who your headman is. It is just affecting everyone hence it is everyones responsibility to play a part in the fight against it, she said.

Amai Mnangagwa kept her session interactive and allowed members of the community to ask questions and share ideas on what they knew about coronavirus.

The Angel of Hope patron, who donated foodstuffs, blankets and home-made face masks to the elderly and personal protective equipment, sanitisers, disinfectants and knapsack sprayers to Binga Hospital, took her audience through discussions on safe mask use and disposal.

These masks must be handled with care. The ones that are reusable must be washed and ironed, while the other ones must be disposed of in a hygienic manner. We are encouraged to place them in litter bins that have lids.

But I favour burning them so that young children will not play around with them and be contaminated by diseases, she said.

The First Lady spoke exhaustively on the pandemic and was satisfied her audience grasped her messages through the questions they posed. The villagers were thankful for the eye-opening sessions.

Amai Mnangagwa was at Binga District Hospital before she proceeded to Siabuzuba Clinic where she held similar interactive sessions.

Her programmes are non-partisan.

Sekuru Milisa Muleya from Kadyanyama Village said he was awestruck by the First Ladys humility and passion for the welfare of others, especially the vulnerable.

She is doing a great job. This shows she cares for every citizen. She is a true mother of the nation and we want to thank her for her teachings as we have learnt a lot today. This will save lives and ensure a nation keeps going forward, he said.

Gogo Filda Khumalo weighed in and thanked the First Lady for the foodstuffs, the teachings and the visit.

This place has been remembered by God. The fact that she has come to teach us, feed us and assess our needs means we are special to her. I thank the First Lady for her good heart. God bless her, she said.

The First Ladys visit here comes after she has toured eight other provinces, including the San community in Matabeleland South as she covers the length and breadth of the country teaching people about coronavirus and how best they can protect themselves.

On Monday, in Makhulela, Thwayithwayi Village, she handed over a modern fully-furnished hut and toilets she constructed through her foundation to the village head of the San community where she has also introduced a thriving nutritional garden, an orchard and a poultry project, among other several projects which the community had never embarked on.

She is transforming the people from being hunters and gatherers into farmers.

The First Lady, who is passionate about the development of marginalised communities, has brought massive development to the Doma people in Kanyemba where she has initiated income-generating projects, facilitated the construction of schools and also built a waiting shelter for expecting mothers there.

Amai Mnangagwa, who is also a champion for women empowerment, is not a newcomer to Binga.

She has previously worked with ZUBO Trust, an organisation for women based here and are involved in economic empowerment projects to improve the lives of families and contribute to the countrys macro-economic development.

Last year, she officially opened the ZUBO Womens Centre where most women from the area have transformed themselves and their communities through self-help projects such as jatropha soap production.

The jatropha has a ready market in Europe, particularly in Germany.

Through her foundation, a pilot goat-rearing project and reusable pad sewing initiative were introduced in Matabeleland North and the First Lady will soon launch them.

She has also been assisting childrens and old peoples homes in Binga and in 2018 she gave over 1 000 orphans and elderly people a Christmas treat when she hosted a party for them at Sunrise Childrens home.

Minister Moyo thanked Amai Mnangagwa for always remembering his province adding that it continued to benefit from her programmes and projects thereby improving peoples lives.

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First Lady takes campaign to Binga - The Herald

A student is writing to public bodies serving the isles as part of an effort to ensure Shetland plays an active role in giving racism the boot.

Fraser Tait is contacting Shetland Islands Councils chief executive with a call for a four-pronged approach to ensure the chances of any improper attitudes or behaviour gaining a foothold in the isles are immediately stamped out.

The 21 year-old scholar of Edinburgh University has already gathered over 60 signatures to his open letter to Maggie Sandison, and is hopeful of attracting more.

He also intends to dispatch the letter to NHS Shetland and local police representatives.

Mrs Sandison has insisted robust measures are in place within the council and insisted there is no place for racism within the authority.

It follows the launch of a local organisation in support of the pressure group Black Lives Matter, which has gained momentum in light of the international outrage over the death of George Floyd.

The new group Shetland Staands wi Black Lives Matter is planning to stage a number of lockdown-friendly walks this weekend.

Mr Tait, a former pupil at Sandwick Junior High School, says he wants Shetland to:

Foster a community which calls out those who discriminate against minorities. Hold folk accountable for their actions. Educate people to understand the inhumane realities of the British empire.Put in place zero tolerance

I decided to write a letter because I had seen open letters written by black students at university and felt this was a good way to voice concerns over racism and also show a good public backing behind the comments I made, he said.

Im also a key worker at the moment, so I didnt want to attend a protest and risk public safety.

I chose to write an open letter to Maggie Sandison because she is chief executive of the SIC and following her rapid and efficient response to Covid-19, she seems to have the concern for Shetland citizens at the forefront of her mind when making decisions and so would be likely to listen.

Thats not to say other people wouldnt, but she is in a position of power in Shetland and would be a powerful ally to have in the fight against racism here.

But Mr Tait has not sent the letter to Mrs Sandison as yet. He hopes to compile more signatures before sending it to the council chief.

He insists policies aimed at addressing racism must be upheld.

Its one thing to have it written on paper but another to actually act on the prejudice and racism within our local community.

Maggie Sandison

Mrs Sandison has told The Shetland Times the council was fully committed to working under the terms of the Equality Act 2010 to promote equality and inclusiveness.

I havent received a copy of the letter yet but I welcome that individuals and our community are uniting to fight racism and injustice, she said.

The council promotes participation and the empowerment of people as citizens to be more involved in shaping the future of our community and the services the council provides to the community.

The council is committed to fulfilling its duties under the Equalities Act 2010. The council promotes equality and inclusion in its organisational policies and considers the impacts on equality of all its decisions.

Any form of racism, discrimination or hate speech isnt welcome. Our values are about diversity, inclusivity and tolerance, and it is everyones personal responsibility to take a stand against racism and other inequality issues.

Our HR policies are designed to promote a culture and environment of equality of opportunity and to actively prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

She added: Racism would be a disciplinary offence in the councils code of conduct for staff and would be reported to the police as a possible hate crime.

Link:

Student calls for isles to play active role in stamping out racism - Shetland Times Online

At the beginning of the year, I set a personal challenge to cut back on online shopping. I wanted to reduce my online orders from several times a week (insert embarrassed emoji) to a few times a month. As time passed, I realized I had fewer deliveries to track and more money left in my bank account at the end of the month.

But then covid-19 happened. And now eliminating online shopping is more than a fad or a New Year's resolution. For millions, cutting things out of the budget is an absolute necessity.

If you're having to scale back on discretionary spending whether that's shopping, travel or something else entirely here's how to give up that financial habit without feeling deprived.

The news is filled with fear, worry and sadness. But it helps to see the silver lining, says Denise Downey, a certified financial planner and owner of Financial Trex LLC, based in Spokane, Wash.

Depending on where you live, you could be forced to stop some spending on travel, sporting events, haircuts, entertainment and more. This involuntary saving can help you make changes you wouldn't have otherwise made on your own.

"Those decisions are being made for us right now," Downey says. "It's not a matter of, 'Do I cut the vacation this year or not?' It's cut. There's no decision to be made with that."

It's about perspective. So, if you can, focus on the benefits. For instance, you could find you're feeling a positive boost as you watch your bank account grow and your credit card bill stop climbing.

If you need help creating a budget, click here for tips.

So sure, my deliveries of clothing, makeup and the newest scented candles aren't as frequent. But much like the thrill of getting a delivery, I'm finding that not spending is also appealing.

Placing fewer online orders equates to saving more money, as long as you don't substitute an expensive activity in its place. The same goes for other types of spending. Cutting back any spending habit can lead to savings.

It can also give you a sense of empowerment, says Drew Harris, CFP, senior financial adviser at Greenway Wealth Advisors LLC, based in Charlotte, N.C.

"It's a good way to gain back some control by taking ownership of our spending," Harris says.

Cutting back means you're giving something up. But you're also gaining freedom from the financial stress that discretionary spending can cause, as well as the buyer's remorse that so often accompanies spending.

This sense of empowerment can help you feel better. L. Kevin Chapman, a licensed clinical psychologist, says people can "adopt a sense of mastery when eliminating something that has led to financial strain."

Basically, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment, which allows you to feel positive (rather than negative) about the changes you're making.

Don't get discouraged. Your decreased spending won't have to last forever.

But then again, you may find you don't necessarily want to return to your pre-pandemic spending habits. And that's OK, too.

Chapman says many people will become more accustomed to shopping less, especially if they've replaced their shopping habit with more cost-effective activities.

Take this time to learn some new habits in place of your old costly ones.

Harris suggests going for a walk, talking with family and friends or finding some other inexpensive activity you enjoy doing.

Another example? Downey says her children were constantly busy with extracurricular activities activities that cost money. But since the family has been home, she has noticed they're happy and entertained, even with a not-so-busy schedule. That has led her to rethink enrolling them in quite as many activities in the future.

Regardless of the specific substitutions you make, the changes you're implementing during these unprecedented times will help increase your savings and emergency fund. Best case scenario, when life returns to some degree of normalcy one day, hopefully that fund is more than you ended up needing, Downey says.

In that case, you can reward yourself by buying something you're putting off right now and paying for it in cash.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Courtney Jespersen is a writer at NerdWallet.

Style on 06/08/2020

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Squint and you might see the silver lining behind having less cash - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

What will you be when you grow up? they asked. When she was younger, the answer changed a little every time the question was posed. It never once occurred to her that she wouldnt be something that she wouldnt be someone. Through countless hours spent thinking about the next step, the assumption of work remained. Find a job that makes you happy, and gives you choices, her mother said. Ten years later, armed with two degrees, she contemplates a third. Partly, to avoid going to another interview, only to hear a middle-aged man tell her he cannot believe that shes nearing 30. But you look so young no plans for marriage? he says, even as he mentally crosses her off a shortlist she was barely on. She knows shes one of the privileged ones. What of those women who have mouths to feed? Those with bills that wont stop coming? What of them?

The definitions of jobs, work, and workplaces may be evolving but, regardless of the parameters used, women are dropping out of Indias labour force at an alarming rate. Whereas several South Asia countries have increased their Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) in recent years, Indias numbers have dropped steadily, despite an increase in the rate of economic growth and the education level of women in the same period. According to World Bank data, as of March 1, 2020, Indias FLFPR now stands above only a handful of countries and is lower than Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Egypt.

When confronted with this data, the reaction of many is that it cant be true: But I know lots of women who work! Anecdotally, of course, that feels right. Stories of women working are increasingly commonplace in the media and popular culture. However, as journalist Namita Bhandare put it, there is a tendency to celebrate the exceptional rather than face up to the reality. So the questions remain: is this trend real, why is it happening and, crucially, does it matter?

What does the data tell us or not?

From boardrooms to factories to call centres women seem to be everywhere. India has finally even seen its first woman fighter pilot. However, the data tells a different story. In 2005, Indias FLFPR was at 31.7 percent, but in the years since, has dropped sharply with current World Bank estimates suggesting that the rate is at 20.52 percent.

So, why are women dropping out of Indias workforce? The first answer could lie in the very definition of being in the labour force, and what kind of work is counted.

Indian women do more unpaid work in the home than their counterparts anywhere in the world. As Dr. Ashwini Deshpande said on episode 7 of the Women In Labour podcast, the real social norm that underpins Indias approach to womens work is the cultural assumption that domestic work is the responsibility of women and only after it is completed can they access the formal labour force. Given that women undertake the vast majority of unpaid work in India, with66 percent of womens work being unpaid, compared with 12 percent of mens, its not that women arent working; its that their work is done in private, hidden from what is formally counted. This hugely disproportionate burden of care taken on by women provides the first major clue as to why women arent as prevalent in the workforce as they could be.

Whats happening at home is played out in stark contrast within the workplace. While women have a duty to work in the home, they are not afforded the same opportunity outside. When considering who has the right to pursue gainful employment, Indians reserve that right almost solely for men. A 2010 survey found that 84 percent of Indian respondents reported that men have more of a right to work than women when jobs are scarce. This perception plays out when we look at the data too. As unemployment has increased across the country, a staggering 90 percent of the 36 million new jobs that have been created in industry since 2005 have gone to men. And, as economist Dr. Ritu Dewan shared on episode 5 of the Women in Labour podcast, in the aftermath of demonetisation, women lost a disproportionately large number of jobs compared with men.

So, despite our personal perceptions and the positive media stories highlighting the exceptional success of some women what emerges from the data is that, not only are women facing a deeply unfair burden of work in the home, they are also less likely to be hired than men and more likely to lose jobs when employment is scarce.

Why does it matter?

First, lets look at the financials. Currently, India has one of the youngest populations in the world. The next few years present a demographic window of opportunity. Not only can the country transform its economic landscape, there is also great scope for women to be a part of Indias success story. Reports tell us that harnessing the potential of Indias female workforce could add USD 0.7 trillion to the countrys GDP, representing an 18 percent increase, and that both productivity and male incomes rise as a result of womens inclusion in the workforce.

Second, and perhaps more fundamental, is decision-making. If women are working less and less, they will not be able to access leadership roles. India runs the risk of becoming a country that is run by men, to cater to the needs of men. Without female leaders across industries and halls of power, who represents half the countrys population? Who fights for policies that enable women to succeed? Autonomy and empowerment go hand-in-hand, and inclusive, sustainable growth cannot be achieved unless women have an equal voice.

The third critical truth is that of aspirations. Women want to work, and businesses benefit from their labour; therefore, this is about leveraging ambitions as much as it is about economic growth and industry. Young women today are increasingly empowered by the choices our mothers and grandmothers made, just as they were empowered by theirs. With every generation, there is progress. As young women with 21st century aspirations, we are ready to take on the world but where are our jobs?

(Sonakshi Chaudhry is Research & Editorial Lead at the Women In Labour Podcast. Views expressed are personal.)

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Women Are Ready To Take On The World, But Where Are Their Jobs? - Outlook India

Growing up, Amie Jean was the 12th child out of 13. Her mother would buy the single-serving cereal boxes, and there would be a rush to the kitchen every morning. If you didnt get up first, you didnt get the one you wanted.

With 12 siblings, Ive always very much been aware of other people, Jean says. But I didnt understand how it wasnt a competition or a collision.

UT showed me were all here existing together, and when we can work together? Oh, its over. We can do anything.

This month, the student body vice president, Texas Parent Award finalist, and Texas orange jacket Amie Jean will graduate with a finance degree from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. One of our outstanding graduates from the 2020 class, she has helped shift the culture of this campus by co-leading one of the most successful student body campaigns in history.

She ran alongside now-student body president Camron Goodman and won 67.36% of student body first-choice votes. As a vice president, Jean championed the idea of UTxYOU, a campaign and administration centered around students working to make sure UT fits their needs. As both a leader and a student, Jean has maintained that college is a big avenue for personal growth.

Theres something so critical about this period in our lives during college, and Im grateful for that, she says.

There are parts of the college experience that often go unnamed. People often hear about how education creates career and networking opportunities and allows for innovations in technology or the business world. For Jean, the true value of an education is not just in traditional leadership roles and academics but also in how being on campus can make people feel welcome.

I think that all of the opportunities and the people I knew in college really helped me understand something about empathy, love and self-empowerment, she says.

Jean has led the student body through important assemblies. She led a campaign to raise funds for racing chairs for other wheelchair users to participate in Longhorn Run. She has applied for more than 200 scholarships and received dozens. Even with all of her accolades, she says she feels the most important thing shes gained from her education is her ability to share her growth with her family. Growing up with 12 siblings, Jean sometimes felt that the competitiveness of the household kept her from being a good older sister.

My proudest achievement? she says. The first thing that always comes up in my head is I think Im becoming a great big sister.

Jeans younger sister Nicole has frequently visited her on campus. Jean has multiple sclerosis, which causes her to experience pain and fatigue. Since Jeans diagnosis during her sophomore year, Nicole, 19, occasionally comes to Austin to help Jean with various tasks.

In my head, shes an unofficial UT student, Jean says about her sister. Im just like, Oh wow, you did this, you did that with me. We cried together at the dome on top of the Student Activity Center. That is very much a student experience, she says. I love that who I am at UT, I was able to share that with her.

A lot of times, people say to me: You could have taken a semester off, and you could have just went back home, she says. And Im like, yeah, I could have. But the things that go unnamed is what kept me.

Jean says she looks fondly at many of the interactions she had on campus. She spent much of her time at UT in the Multicultural Engagement Center. In the often sunny room, Assistant Director of the MEC Malik Crowder would ask her how she was doing and when she was next going to stop by and say hello to the family.

I think Malik knows how to make a student feel wanted. Hes always like Oh, you belong here, not only here but right here next to me bothering me.

Jean says Malik will ask you to come to an event and do nothing but be present. As she stepped more into her role as student body vice president last year, she would pass the MEC more often on her way up to the Student Government office on the next floor. The invitations from Malik never stopped. I love the consistency. Nothing about Malik changed, in a good way.

The value of her degree did not just come from the classroom. Jean found a number of mentors on campus. BBA Director of Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Charles Enriquez, Recreational Sports staff members Jennifer Speer and Tom Dison, Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement Dr. Leonard Moore and Director of Texas Parents Susie Smith. Each of them carving a way to help Jean grow into the type of person she wanted to be. Susies late mother had MS, Jean says. Shes been helpful in a way that I didnt understand that I needed so much.

When I say Im tired, Susie understood what I truly meant.

Jean had applied to a consulting job with Dell and made it to the second round of interviews when the pandemic froze the process. With her finance degree from the McCombs School of Business, she sees herself pivoting to human resources or other person-focused fields in the business world.

Im not feeling stressed about not having something definite, she says. I think its because theres this collective uncertainty going on right now.

Jeans one definitive plan is to train for Bike MS: Texas MS 150, where she will use her handcycle to travel 150 miles through Texas to raise money for MS. The event has been delayed from its original summer start time until September 26.

All in all, Jeans time on campus demonstrates that the value of an education rests in the little things the small interactions that are possible when you are surrounded by people who are interested in seeing you grow.

On a Sunday last fall, alongside her sister Jean left J2 dining hall with an ice cream cone in hand. Nicole, who turns 20 this year, had been in town helping Jean clean her room. They went together under the warmth of the Texas sun. It was a busy afternoon by the Jester dormitory, but Jean felt an incredible calm. She called Nicole over and asked her to sit in her lap. Nicole obliged and the two sisters spun together in Jeans wheelchair. She balanced the ice cream as they rotated and laughed through songs from the musical Hairspray. No competition in sight.

Everything just seemed right with the world, Jean says. I had ice cream and its like, OK, youre about to go back to San Antonio. But Im grateful for whatever this moment just meant and how all the things that go unsaid are going to give me energy for weeks.

Here is the original post:

Amie Jean, UT20 Senior - UT News - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

Change is going to be required in our new normal. The more time we spend comparing our lives in the past to our lives going forward the more challenging it will become to move forward. So what can we do to adapt to our new normal and embrace change? The good news is there are a growing number of developments in the brain sciences that show your brain has a remarkable capacity to change and improve over time. Joining us to share how change is possible in the brain is psychologist, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeleys Greater Good Science Center and New York Times bestselling author, Rick Hanson.

About The Show

Welcome to The Aware Show Health and Mindset Series, join host Lisa Garr as she talks with experts about what life looks like in our new normal, how to embrace and adapt to change, and how to maintain a healthy mind and body.

Today, The Aware Show has an opportunity to be leaders in their own lives especially when it comes to our health. After suffering a traumatic brain injury during a California State Championship Mountain bike race several years ago, Lisa Garr had a near-death experience that transformed her level of consciousness.

This transformation inspired Lisa to build her own media platform about awareness. The Aware Health & Mindset Series features seasoned host, Lisa Garr, interviewing world-renowned experts in preventative health, cutting-edge science, mindfulness, personal empowerment, resilience, and more.

Watch The Aware Health and Mindset Series every weekday day a

#Mindfulness CoVid19 Good Science Center Health Lisa Garr New Normal Rick Hanson The Aware Health and Mindset Series

The rest is here:

Embracing the New Normal with Rick Hanson, Ph.D. - Free Speech TV

An example of a 2020 stimulus check Photo: Jason Raff/Shutterstock

Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITYsdaily morning newsletter.

Even as the coronavirus crisis brings out the best in some people, scammers are seizing the opportunity to take advantage of struggling New Yorkers.

Unfortunately in times of crisis, people who run usual cons adapt really quickly to take advantage of the situation, said Mary McCune, a staff attorney at Legal Services NYC who specializes in consumer protection.

McCune and other local experts said a new crop of scams related to the virus has popped up all over the city ranging from attempts to steal stimulus checks to selling fake cures and vaccines.

Carlyn Cowan, chief policy officer at the Chinese-American Planning Council, said many clients are having trouble figuring out what information is trustworthy and knowing how to get the resources they desperately need.

For folks who really need to be able to pay for rent, groceries or medications, they may fall prey to those scams because they need help as soon as they can get it, she said.

Cowans advice is time-tested: If someone is making an offer that seems too good to be true, it usually is, she said.

Here are the most common current scams, with tips on protecting your information and finances:

Some scammers are calling and pretending to be from the IRS, offering to help folks get their stimulus check faster, according to McCune. The callers ask for bank information or other personal details needed to rob people of their checks.

People are also receiving messages that appear to be related to the stimulus checks, but actually lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft, according to the IRS website.

McCune offered some simple advice: Dont trust anyone on the phone who says theyre from the IRS.

No one from the federal government is going to call you, she said. Thats not how it works.

The IRS set up a portal where you can check on the status of your payment and set up direct deposit. The agency also has updated recommendations on how to avoid stimulus and tax-related scams, and frequently posts tips on Twitter.

Some New Yorkers told THE CITY theyve gotten calls from people posing as representatives from government agencies. The callers offer to help people access government benefits such as SNAP or Medicaid, and ask for personal information.

The government likely wont be calling you: At this time, a major exception to this rule is the state Department of Labor. Due to the backlogged system, representatives are calling some New Yorkers to help them complete their unemployment benefit claims.

The department warned that calls may come from private numbers, which some people may see as a red flag. In order to ensure security, the representative should verify their identity by telling you the date you filed your application and the type of claim you filed.

You may be asked to verify certain aspects of your application, but a department representative will not ask you for your full social security number or your banking information over the phone.

One scam tipoff: You should not need to pay anyone a fee to access a government benefit. Another indicator: if the caller is trying to rush you into a decision.

If someone says, If you dont act now, you lose the opportunity forever, that is not true, and that is probably a scam, McCune said.

If you dont think the person calling you is from the government agency they say they are from, you can call the agency directly to verify, or you can call the New York State Division of Consumer Protection helpline at 800-697-1220.

Some scammers are posting on social media with coronavirus-related offers asking people to click on a link that leads to a seemingly real website and then stealing personal information.

One version of this scam is a Facebook post that advertises to seniors a special grant to help pay medical bills, according to the Better Business Bureau website.

The link leads to a fake website claiming to be a government agency called the U.S. Emergency Grants Federation, which requests personal banking information and your social security number in order to receive funds.

In addition to taking your money, these kinds of scams can download malware onto your device and can use your information for identity theft.

Experts advise to be wary of social media ads and posts that appear to offer assistance from government agencies. Verify the agencies and the websites and remember that free government benefits do not cost money.

If a friend reaches out to you on social media with a coronavirus-related offer, check in to make sure their account wasnt hacked.

Scams known as phishing happen when attackers use fake websites disguised as official sites as well as email and social media messages to trick people.

The emails often offer coronavirus updates and contain a call to action. The idea: to entice people into visiting a website that scammers use to steal data, usernames and passwords, credit card details, and other personal information.

Dont click on any links from any COVID-19-related email youre not expecting.

If you get an email out of the blue claiming to be from the government, its probably not from a government agency, according to McCune.

Call the agency and ask if they are emailing people. That way youll know what kind of communication to expect.

If you get an email from a familiar company, like Dropbox or Google, and youre not sure whether the link is safe, you can first hover over the link without clicking it, said Tyler Moffitt, security analyst at Webroot, a cybersecurity company.

Then check to see where the link is actually taking you by looking for the full URL in the bottom left corner of your screen. Moffitt warns that this method isnt foolproof, as some scammers have figured out how to host their fake website on a real internet domain.

Some malicious cyber actors are using COVID-related lures to convince people to download an attachment that contains malware or malicious software designed to harm your computer and your data.

Trust your instincts: If an email attachment seems suspicious, dont open it, even if your antivirus software says its OK to.

For phishing emails with attachments, dont click enable content.

If its telling you to enable content to click the yellow button at the top to run the macro that is the scam, said Moffitt. If you dont click enable content, youre going to be safe.

You can read more security tips from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency here.

Price gouging is illegal for any item or service related to stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

But that doesnt stop some business owners from taking advantage of the fact that the public needs certain essential goods like food and disinfectant spray and are hiking prices.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has sent out more than 1,300 cease-and-desist orders to businesses for price gouging, said Delaney Kempner, a spokesperson for James office.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James Photo: @NewYorkStateAG/Twitter

Price gouging is something we can take action on and order businesses to stop selling these things, she said. We can take them to court and have them shut down.

You can report price gouging to the state by using this online complaint form or calling 212-416-8000. You also can report overcharges on essential goods to the city by using this online complaint form or calling 311.

Scammers are also taking advantage of New Yorkers good will.

While people are providing remarkable and legitimate forms of aid and support all around the city, its important to verify an organization or group before you donate.

You can research a group online using resources like Charity Navigator or give.org. But some mutual aid work operating at a neighborhood level may be harder to verify in that way. In those cases, look at social media pages and talk to people you trust before giving.

There is no vaccine or cure yet for the coronavirus, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Air purifiers cannot remove the virus from the air. Creams do not protect you from the virus. You can see the latest advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about how to protect yourself from the virus here.

You can only get a coronavirus test at a medical testing site. Home test kits are not real and do not work.

If you are in a tight financial spot because of the crisis and struggling to make loan payments, you may look for a way to get the money you need faster.

However, McCune warns that many people reaching out offering to help you refinance or reduce a loan may be taking advantage of you.

You should not pay anyone any fees to get help with your loan or mortgage.

McCune said your best bet is to call your loan officer or the people who process your payments, and they can help you figure out options. Ask them what is happening to your loan and if any benefits are available to you.

If you gave out your personal information to someone over the phone or online, Kempner said there arent many options for recourse.

But there are steps you can take to minimize the damage.

You can get free one-on-one financial counseling by contacting the NYC Financial Empowerment Center. The counseling can happen over the phone, though you have to create an online account first.

You can also call a trusted local community-based organization to see if they provide financial counseling or can connect you with another trustworthy local organization that does.

If you logged into a fake website or gave information online, the first thing you should do, according to Moffitt, is change your username and password for your real accounts.

Scammers are clever: They know that many people use the same login information for multiple accounts. So if you divulge your password on a fake website, then scammers will most likely use this information to hack other accounts.

If you gave out banking information to someone, you should notify your bank and the IRS immediately.

You can fill out this form, and the IRS will take a second look at anyone trying to file anything in your name.

You should also report incidents of possible identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission via this form, or by calling the Identity Theft Hotline at 877-438-4338.

If you gave out any credit card information, you should contact your credit card company and the fraud departments at the three major credit reporting agencies:

Equifax 800-525-6285

Experian 888-397-3742

TransUnion 800-680-7289

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How to Spot Coronavirus Scams and COVID Con Artists in NYC - THE CITY