It’s fascinating how terms like “social distancing” and “sheltering in place” that were not in our everyday vocabularies a few weeks ago seem to be on the tip of everyone’s tongues today. My friend Reveca Torres who runs BACKBONESonline nailed it in a recent blog when she said we need to be conscious of the words we use: social distancing is not what we need now, physical distancing is. Just because we have to be 6 feet apart doesn’t mean we can’t keep building our community.
We who live or have lived with the effects of paralysis aren’t strangers to feelings of isolation and disorientation. With the Here and Now Project, we have found a way to break through those barriers by making meaningful knee-to-knee connections with others in similar circumstances. This new global situation demands creative solutions, even if only temporarily while we wait for more information on how best to continue doing life over the long-term.
With that said, we will be switching our monthly support meetings to Zoom gatherings online for the remainder of this month and the duration of April. If we can’t get knee-to-knee for the time being, we can still get screen-to-screen! In the meantime, we will remain cautiously optimistic about the rest of our regularly scheduled 2020 programming and reassess each on a case-by-case basis.
For more paralysis-specific information and resources pertaining to COVID-19, stay tuned to continued coverage provided by New Mobility Magazine and Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Do your best to stay safe, healthy, and sane everyone!
Kenny Salvini H&NP Cofounder & President