Covid-19 has forced local families, funeral directors to rethink final goodbyes

The Cincinnati Zoo has found a way to connect to their community even after temporarily shutting its doors because of COVID19. Using Facebook Live, the zoo hosts daily videos showcasing different animals and educational programming about them. Their first video reached over 4 million views and has shown to be a way to engage their members, even from afar.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on, people are turning to social media to share their stories and find communities. With a flood of misinformation online and mixed messaging from government leaders, many are documenting their own experiences having the novel coronavirus to give contextual experiences and reduce others’ anxiety. Researchers have noticed this spike in digital diaries and are using it for research as well.

Mutual aid programs that connect those in need with funds or assistance have launched across the nation as a means for many to navigate the closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. For university students, these donations are helping to fill an economic gap that will still persist for many despite federal stimulus funds.

Many psychologists and counselors have moved their therapy sessions online due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been received largely positively across the nation. As the pandemic continues, however, there is an increasing need for therapists who are trained to work with other therapists or first responders, so some states are now increasing online educational training, using social media to make connections, and utilizing professional organizations to "keep records of therapists available and trained to work with other first responders."

With just over 1,200 confirmed cases and only one death from COVID-19 at the time of the video's publication, New Zealand offers lessons to the world for pandemic response. The main lesson is act early, and act decisively. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand announced that it would be the first democratic country to close its borders just days after identifying its first few cases, with a nationwide shutdown just days after that.

Aware that already-high rates of mental health problems and suicide in native American populations could grow even worse during COVID-19 isolation, a number of support groups rolled out online sessions that have attracted thousands of attendees seeking connections and comfort. The Native Wellness Institute's daily Power Hour on Facebook Live and the Healing Indigenous Lives Initiative's online meetings offer storytelling, wellness training, peer support, and other lessons in self-care.

Two medical professionals, one in New York and one in the Phillipines, have launched a free online seminar that aims to help Filipino and Filipino American frontline workers who are experiencing mental health concerns due to coronavirus stressors. The program is just one of several that is helping medical professionals reduce the stigma around talking about mental health.

Communities in Nigeria have been using WhatsApp to manage isolation and help provide support to their fellow residents during the coronavirus pandemic. In many instances organizations and individuals are helping to raise and provide funds to those who are experiencing financial hardship.

Mental health agencies in North Carolina have partnered with a mobile phone carrier to provide data-enabled smartphones to individuals who lack access to technology during the pandemic. Because this doesn't provide a solution to all, however, mental health experts are also meeting with patients outside in social distanced settings.

The nationwide surge in gun violence during the pandemic has forced support groups for grieving survivors to persevere in their work using different tools and strategies in a process that depends on intimate forms of counseling. In Durham, one "grief circle" associated with the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham still hosts anti-violence vigils after each killing. Its support group for parents and grandparents of victims, led by fellow survivors for maximum effect, shifted to Zoom and telephone calls. Among the beneficiaries of the support: the organizers themselves, whose work gives them purpose.