Jack in Montreal

Jack is the kind of friend that’s like family. We grew up together and they have always been a significant person in my life. They are currently living in Montreal and working the front lines by supporting vulnerable and at risk populations. This is a Facebook post that they shared recently with the full disclaimer that this is all other people’s information and ideas, just being shared to be helpful.

“a few things i’ve learned in the last couple of days in various zoom calls (they were recorded so i’ll post links in the comments if i can) that made me feel better and might make you feel better too:

- the primary way this virus spreads is touching something that has the virus on it and then touching your face. it isn’t airborne— it’s in droplets of spit (this is why you need to keep 2m of distance between you and other people if you go out— to avoid transmission by breathing in droplets they’ve coughed out). if you wash your hands whenever you touch things (from) outside your home, and avoid touching your face, that is the best thing you can do!

- you do not need to wear a mask unless you are in close contact with someone who is sick. BUT! a mask can help you stop touching your face! so, if you have one and you want to wear it when you leave the house, do that! any kind of mask works— bandana, neck tube, scarf, fashion mask, whatever. surgical masks are primarily needed by those who are in contact with sick people, especially frontline health workers, so don’t sit on a bunch of them if you don’t need them

- governments are responding to this by increasing police presence and powers. this is not going to keep us safer but it is going to disproportionately affect the same people police already target— people who are more vulnerable (poc, queer and trans people, street-involved people, sex workers, migrants, undocumented people, etc.). we need to resist this. and, we cannot let this turn us into cops. don’t call the cops if you think people are gathering when they shouldn’t be! 

- pursuant to that: harm reduction is more important now than ever! part of harm reduction is letting people make the decisions they need to make, understanding that they know themselves best. you can act as an information resource for people, but you can’t control them. what you can do is advocate for things that might help them be safer, if they want to be (e.g., if you’re feeling pissed about homeless people gathering in large groups while we’re all supposed to be social distancing, get on the phone and talk to some politicians about providing homeless people with places to live)

- we are all gonna experience a huge amount of stress and grief around this. we’re grieving whatever lives we thought we were gonna be living right now, we’re grieving job loss and financial uncertainty, constraints on community and intimacy, we’re grieving loss of loved ones. part of taking care of each other is tending to that as much as we can. people are going to be upset. they’re gonna be scared. especially if they have mental health issues! they might make “bad” decisions or do things you don’t agree with. be understanding, if you can. be gentle with others, and with yourself, if you can. this isn’t cause to stop taking care of each other. we know that shame doesn’t work as an instructive tool. look to those doing work around shame and grief (like queer people who lived through the hiv crisis)

- this is a long game! we don’t know how long yet. but for however long it lasts, we’ve gotta keep limiting the bubbles of people we interact with. we’ve gotta keep social distancing, and staying at home as much as possible— for everything except non-essential errands. this is limiting the spread of the virus (because it spreads exponentially) and therefore limiting the number of people who will wind up with symptoms severe enough that they’ll need to go to the hospital. it’s important even if things get worse, and it’s importent even when they start to get better! 

that’s it. love you all. we’re gonna get through this 🖤”