Social Distance Assistance
A podcast about looking for the helpers during the pandemic. Taking a cue from Mr. Rogers, host Kelly Jones and her daughter, June, set out to find brave, creative problem solvers who are supporting their communities in the era of social distancing. Each week, they explore how people are helping and then sit down with experts who can answer our most pressing pandemic questions and give practical advice on how to become helpers ourselves. Visit vpm.org/helpers for more information on how you can help.
Episodes
April 9, 2020 • 2 mins
Tune in every Tuesday as we explore the positive ways people are helping during the pandemic and answer your questions about life in the era of social distancing. Coming April 14.
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April 14, 2020 • 24 mins
Why are so many people trying their hands at sewing homemade masks? Making a mask not only helps the wearers feel safe, it helps the maker feel useful and part of a movement. We speak with members of an Atlanta-based volunteer group that’s been able to deliver more than 13,000 masks to their local hospital system, hear why a long-time sewist only started making masks in the past week, and even make a couple masks ourselves. Visit v...
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April 16, 2020 • 24 mins
How do you effectively make, wear and take care of a mask? What materials should you use? Should kids be wearing masks? Is it safe to ride a bike or walk your dog without one? How will our society treat mask wearers when we're allowed to be near each other again? We explore these questions and more with Dr. Lindsey Neal, a Charlottesville-based physician. Visit vpm.org/helpers for more information.
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April 21, 2020 • 27 mins
How are people continuing to worship and practice their respective religions without coming into contact with each other? While many faith leaders have taken to the digital realm to connect with their communities, some are finding more unexpected ways of gathering, particularly for major holidays. We listen in on an Easter service at a drive-in theater, head to a cemetery for a self-serve Catholic mass, and hear from a tattooed rab...
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April 23, 2020 • 25 mins
It's easy to question your faith or lose hope in times of crisis. So, how can you calm yourself and help others at the same time? Kelly interviews married Buddhist couple Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care (zencare.org) to learn how they are training doctors and faith leaders on the front lines to practice active listening and other "contemplative care" techniques anyone...
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April 28, 2020 • 26 mins
Isolation can lead to anxiety and depressed thoughts, which means this crisis isn't only wreaking havoc on physical health - it's taking a toll on mental health as well. So, how can you cope? We tracked down helpers from around the world who are encouraging people to acknowledge these feelings and work together in creative ways to overcome them.
Resources:
crisistextline.org (or text HOME to 741741)
validationstation.net
soundc...
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May 5, 2020 • 26 mins
We're all in this together, but not in the way we've been able to with other tragedies. What does it mean to experience collective trauma from a distance, and how can we cope? We spoke with Deb Del Vecchio-Scully about her work as a counselor and trauma specialist working with frontline workers through this crisis, as well as simple, helpful techniques you can employ to improve your brain health. Visit https://www.coronavirusonline...
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May 12, 2020 • 54 mins
The coronavirus pandemic has introduced massive disruption in America's food system, and has exposed how "big ag" isn't equipped to quickly pivot to prevent food insecurity issues for much of the population. In this extended episode, we look at the ways people are helping reconnect to community through food at every step in the process.
We speak with individuals and organizations protecting and advocating for farm workers and meatp...
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May 19, 2020 • 47 mins
There's a lot of information out there about how the coronavirus is impacting adults, from their mental and physical health, to their financial well-being, to their ability to reestablish some sense of normalcy as stay-at-home restrictions begin to be eased around the country.
But how is physical distancing affecting kids? How are they coming together to help - whether that's combating loneliness as an only child, facing the confus...
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May 26, 2020 • 38 mins
With most of the focus during the pandemic on finding a cure through science and medicine, it can be easy to question whether art is even necessary right now. But, the truth of the matter is, art - whether visual or performing - has a profound role in helping to tell the human stories that science can't, and introduces hope where it may not have been obvious.
We speak with a theater director helping kids continue to have an outlet ...
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June 2, 2020 • 48 mins
For the majority of Americans impacted by the coronavirus, the word home has come to mean something it didn't before, whether that's the office, classroom, daycare, therapist's office or all of the above. And, for the most part, we've adapted to this new concept of what homes are being used for. But what about people who aren't able to be at home, or don't have a home to go to?
We focus on the people bringing the comforts of home ...
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June 9, 2020 • 25 mins
Update
With the national conversation focused on police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, we're taking a break from new episodes this week. However, we did want to take this time to revisit and make some updates to our first episode, on the subject of masks, as so much has changed over the past 8 weeks.
We'll also be back with a new episode on Tuesday, June 16 on how to safely and effectively speak out for social justi...
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June 16, 2020 • 41 mins
Massive, in-person protests have been taking place around the world every day since the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25. Protesting is fundamentally at odds with the concept of social distancing, but thousands of people are making the decision to march in solidarity with Black lives. Thankfully, the majority of those people are taking precautions to keep themselves and others as safe as possible...
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June 23, 2020 • 36 mins
The global response to the coronavirus had some unexpected positive outcomes for the environment. Not long after people began sheltering-in-place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, a number of environmental issues that had previously been chalked up to a simple byproduct of human life began clearing up - everything from improved air quality to wildlife reclaiming spaces.
So, if removing humans and their creations from the e...
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June 30, 2020 • 43 mins
Grief is our internal process of dealing with loss, but coping with that grief requires external support. So, how can we process loss without being together?
For losses of well-known public figures, it can look like a virtual gathering of strangers to share their collective memories and reflect on the global impact the person made. For personal loss, like that of a family member, it may mean making do with a less-than-ideal memori...
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July 3, 2020 • 32 mins
We're excited to share the first episode of VPM's new podcast, Resettled. In this six-part series, we showcase stories of refugees as they adjust to their new lives in Virginia. From navigating the healthcare system to graduating from high school, we share in the intimate moments of refugees' lives and explore the policies shaping their futures. Each episode explores a specific theme in their journeys upon arrival to Virginia. We h...
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July 7, 2020 • 34 mins
What does life look like after the coronavirus--both in the literal sense of surviving a COVID-19 diagnosis, and in the figurative sense as we think about what our "new normal" could look like once we've successfully contained the virus' spread?
We heard from Letha Mullins, a West Virginia-based nurse who contracted COVID-19 in April, about what it feels like to have the virus, and what recovery looks like.
As we bring Social Dist...
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