Welcome to the ninth installment of our #epicenterexperience series!
New Yorkers discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their lives in our Epicenter Experience video series. Consumers tell us how they coped financially, emotionally, or physically during quarantine. Watch Ramona’s story below.
Ramona shares what it was like living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) during the pandemic:
During the outbreak of COVID-19, Ramona who lives in Mott Haven, Bronx, assisted her neighbors in need. According to Ramona, COVID-19 only exemplified underlying problems that people in her community already faced. Structural inequalities, a result of decades of harmful policy decisions left Mott Haven residents unprotected and underserved during the pandemic. Ramona tells us undocumented families struggled the most.
As a result, Ramona encourages her community to vote and not be complacent with the little help it receives. Ramona reflects on her time during the pandemic: “We did not have testing sites available by public transportation. We did not have outreach that resonated with our community. We did not have masks available for purchase. We just were overlooked.”
Watch Ramona’s video below for the full story:
If you’ve got a story, we want to highlight it. Email us at edore@cssny.org, and if you have questions, DM us on Twitter @WeThePatientsNY or on Instagram @wethepatientsny!