All in, together but rebuilding supports for vulnerable families post-pandemic will take time

This column is an opinion by Robyn Brown, an early childhood educator and family advocate in Winnipeg.For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

Like many Manitobans earlier this week, I found myself reflecting on what my life looked like one year ago.

As we marked the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic entering our lives, I was thinking back on how far we had come and how far back we have fallen.

One year ago, upset by the current government's stance on school breakfast programs, I snapped a hasty photo of a lunch I made for one of our students who had not eaten yet that day.

That photo, and the words I used to outline my day of working within a local Winnipeg school that used such a program, ended up going viral and allowing me to use my voice to express my concern at the idea of losing that support.

But days later, the world changed forever.

The breakfast program I had advocated for and the resource program I worked in had to shut our doors for what we thought would be two weeks. Other community resources were forced to follow suit.

That meant the structure and support that vulnerable families and citizens in our communities had come to work with and rely onstarted to shift into barriers that grew as the year dragged on.

The mantra "we are all in this together" became commonplace, but for those requiring supports prior to COVID-19, they were pretty much on their own.

While our province slowly starts to reopen and a vaccine gives us hope for "normal"life soon, it has dawned on me that the damage done within the last year has become almost insurmountable for many. The rebuilding we will need to put these supports back in place may take years.

Though the needs of families in Manitoba did not diminish during COVID-19, the reality of having to adapt our care models in the pandemic world battered many resource agencies.

Parents and individuals who'd worked so hard in previous years to get a leg up and improve the lives of themselves and their children were pushed back down underwater. Some were unable to resurface.

Loneliness a breaking point

Budgets were stretched to their breaking points when children were suddenly at home to eat for three meals a day.

Staying "safe at home" was not an option for those who had to take public transportation, with little ones in tow, to get the essentials they needed.

Remote learning, working from home and reduced capacities for child care became new struggles for those who already had difficulties long before 2020 reared its ugly headand when the reality of losing supports such as food banks, mental health assistance and schools was added to the pile, it made life downright unbearable.

To the families in our village it will get better.- Robyn Brown

But the loneliness may have been the breaking point. Many drop-in programs and parenting groups, once lifelines within their community, were forced to shut downthe final blow of losing a type of chosen family for many of their patrons.

When we think about what our lives were like prior to COVID-19, we often reflect on the little things we took for granted family dinners, patio dates with friends, or enjoying coffee in the break room with co-workers.

We mourn the loss of what were our relationships, careers and social lives.

Personally, I found myself missing the "village" that I had been part of fortunate to work alongside a professional community of wonderfully empathetic and caring individuals who wore the hats of advocate, listener, cheerleader and educator before the world changed.

I missed them, and the families I worked besides, greatly. And I still do!

Renewed hope

But as I write this with a sleeping babe swaddled on my chest one of the highlights of my own year I am reminded of the needs of a new parent again, and given a renewed hope of what we can do as we come together once more.

To the families in our village it will get better. The need for resources and supports is higher than ever, but let this be a reminder that there are many people still working behind the scenes to ensure that the light at the end of the tunnel comes closer.

Like the new life sprouting after winter's thaw, we can climb out of the rubble that was this past year and start fresh once again.

It's going to be tough and it will take time,but we are still here, and we are "all in"together.

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