COVID-19 Learning from Community Stories Showcase
Cuidate/Care by Hinojos & Jimenez Art (support received from the King County Covid-19 Response Fund)
This virtual showcase highlighted the work of five rooted community groups who worked to uplift the experiences of communities most impacted by COVID-19 and the culmination of their community-led data collection and storytelling projects conducted over 2021.
The below presentations summarize just some of the learning and wisdom found within King County communities with whose experiences of the COVID-19 have been shaped by systemic and historic racism and marginalization, and structural barriers to health and well-being. The stories illustrate how different policies and systems can be more equitable and just, and work to support communities to thrive.
Thank you to the Washington Dream Coalition, the Tesfa Project, King County Equity Now, Collectivo de Pueblos Originarios, and Centro Cultural Mexicano for their dedication and sharing with COO as part of this community-led work.
Learn more about the projects and results of each community group in the December presentations below, alongside links to project reports, videos and other materials, and contact information for project leads.
Welcome & Introductions
(Recorded December 16, 2021)
Event Welcome - Robin Haguewood, Community Stories Project Lead
Indigenous welcome - Collectivo de Pueblos Originarios (Antonio Flores Quin, Ireta P’urhépecha)
COO Learning Community Overview - Kalayaan Domingo, COO Learning Community Lead
Presenter Introductions - Robin Haguewood
COVID-19 Stories Presentations
Centro Cultural Mexicano project presentation on December 16, 2021
centro cultural mexicano
The research project of Centro Cultural Mexicano focused on the direct and estimated long-term effects of COVID-19 on low-income Latino children in King County, including housing stability, education, food security, physical health, and social-emotional well-being.
Watch their short documentary film, Ya Es Tiempo, here, or at the video link below.
Ya Es Tiempo documentary
Ya Es Tiempo (The Time is Now)
”This film requests a moment of pause a moment to ask what challenges still lie ahead how can we respond with compassion how can we help our communities to flourish after the devastation that we have experienced over the last 21 months and how can we right the wrongs that exist in our systems and institutions once and for all. Once and for all, hear the voices of our people in English, Spanish and we invite you to join your voices with ours. Walk side by side with us — stand next to us and envision a common future where we thrive together.
The time is now.”
- Angie Hinojos, Executive Director, Centro Cultural Mexicano
Contact: Angie Hinojos, angie @centroculturalmexicano.org
Centro Cultural Mexicano is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that operates an inclusive space where our Latino community, and other communities, connect for increased civic and social participation, and where they are able to access services and educational opportunities for stability and empowerment. We utilize art and culture as powerful tools of engagement; all of our services and programs are bilingual, including rent assistance, vaccination outreach and access, education supports, small business supports, and more. We want people to know this is their home. Our leadership and staff are representative of the communities we serve.
Sharing stories of South King County youth and adults who are from Indigenous communities of the P'urhepecha, Ñuu Savi and Kichwa Otavalo. (Recorded December 16)
CONTACT: Antonio Flores Quin, antoniofq150@gmail.com Erandi Flores, erannddii14@gmail.com Saiwa Conejo, saiwaconejo@gmail.com Gloria Ramirez, ramirez.gloria41@gmail.com
Collectivo de Pueblos Originarios: A collective of 3 indigenous (P'urhepecha, Ñuu Savi and Kichwa Otavalo) communities of central and south America who have descended from pre-Columbian cultures that have maintained their cultural and social characteristics. These 3 groups came together to apply for this project and work collectively to collect stories and elevate their voices
Collectivo de pueblos orginarios
Collectivo de Pueblos Orginarios research projects focuses on adult and youth members of the P'urhepecha, Ñuu Savi and Kichwa Otavalo indigenous communities throughout South King County to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on inequities experienced by youth as well as the connections and cultural traditions that provided resilience during the pandemic.
Presentation & Interview clips may be viewed here: The Resilience of Indigenous Communities in Times of COVID-19
Light, by Arte es Medicina, a Purepecha artist. Links to the slideshow presentation with interview clips.
King County Equity Now (KCEN) presentation (Recorded December 16, 2021)
King County Equity Now (KCEN)
Focusing on reaching members of the Black and Indigenous communities, and other communities of color in Lake City, Rainier Beach, Skyway, the Central District, and South King County areas of Skyway, Kent, Renton, and Auburn, to explore their priorities in the wake of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis and ways they envision creating future thriving communities.
Watch the full KCEN video reel here. The presentation slide deck may be viewed here.
CONTACT: Emijah Smith, emijah@kingcountyequitynow.com
King County Equity Now (KCEN) is a pro-Black advocacy and policy organizing nonprofit focused on developing liberated Black communities that own and control the resources and systems that impact Black lives.
Tesfa Project presentation (Recorded December 16, 2021)
The Tesfa Program’s research focuses on the needs of the Amharic-speaking Ethiopian community throughout King County and the communication and outreach strategies that are effective in increasing health, economic and social resource access and decrease negative community impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tesfa Program’s Ethiopian Outreach Guide Toolkit for Providers can be downloaded here.
The Toolkit presentation may be viewed here.
13 Months of Sunshine podcast may be listened to here.
When people immigrate from Ethiopia, "the land of 13 months of sunshine,” to Seattle, they expect rain while seeking opportunity in the U.S. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the local Ethiopian community struggled to understand how to navigate social services.
CONTACT: Selam Misgano, smisgan066@gmail.com, Rachael Podesfinski, rachpode@umich.edu
The Tesfa Program supports Amharic speaking Ethiopian immigrants and refugees in our region (focused on King & Pierce Counties) to get connected to the resources and information needed to manage life during the pandemic.
WA Dream Coalition presentation (recorded December 16, 2021)
Washington Dream Coalition
Focusing on reaching members of undocumented communities throughout King County the work of the WA Dream Coalition looked at how undocumented communities and communities of color experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and came together to provide mutual support; and how systemic regional responses to the pandemic impacted meeting basic needs, and what kinds of short-term and long-term assistance and systemic changes are most needed. The report: Undocumented Communities in Washington State During the COVID-19 Pandemic showcases data and stories from over 78,000 undocumented immigrants who applied to state relief funds.
Read the full report here: Community Provides | Washington Dream Coalition | King County factsheet | Yakima County factsheet | Press release
“The COVID-19 pandemic deepened the already heavy hardships of the undocumented community. It also spotlighted the power of community care. When we, as undocumented organizers and allies, stepped up to create supports for those who were left out, we saw how our systems can be reimagined and transformed.”
...undocumented people are actively exploited into risking their lives every day during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the active climate crises across the country, in the name of “keeping our economy moving,” which is upholding the system of capitalism in the country.
CONTACT: Alejandra Pérez, aleeperezz@gmail.com
Washington Dream Coalition (WDC): Addressing inequities and obstacles faced by undocumented immigrants in WA State, WDC creates change across the state through community-based organizing, education, and advocacy.
Panel Discussion and Closing
Learning from Community Stories Panel Discussion (Recorded December 16, 2021)
The Power of Process
Panel Discussion
This panel featured presenters from each organization & coalition in conversation about their data collection, analysis & storytelling processes and why community-led data collection and storytelling is so important.
Including discussion on:
Why community led data collection and story-telling?
What has been growthful or rewarding for you or your community?
What kind of actions do you hope people will take based on your findings/ storytelling?
Thank you to everyone who joined us on December 16, and to all those invested in this work for your continued engagement. Please reach out to the project contacts above for more information on how to partner with these community groups on their projects’ next steps for meaningful change for greater public health and well-being in King County!