Young And Roused: Movement In West Strives To Remake Communities Wholer
In Rockies, Forward Montana empowers leaders to confront injustice, navigate corona uncertainty, and challenge economic disparity. One of its staffers explains how
In a week's time, two different Black Lives Mater rallies in Bozeman turned out more than 5,000, with a high percentage of being people 40 and under. If you attended the most recent one in Bozeman, then you might have noticed someone walking around with a "Register to Vote" sign. Voting, Morgan Comey says, is just one avenue to create change. In Montana, Forward Montana and Forward Montana Foundation educates, engages and organizes young people to shape their democracy and to improve their lives and the lives of their peers. They provide young people with the tools they need to engage with all levels of government, from registering to vote to casting a ballot, and to advocating for policies they believe in. As Comey writes in the op-ed below, many of her contemporaries are struggling with issues on a number of fronts. Photo courtesy Tim Crawford.
By Morgan Comey
of Forward Montana
Let’s travel back to the second week of March; in Montana, most of us were still going about our everyday lives while at the same time wondering if we should be preparing for stay-at-home orders and school closures.
I was refreshing my browser every 10 minutes on the federal Centers for Disease Control website, looking for the most up to date count of Covid-19 cases. I’m sure many of you Mountain Journal readers were wondering the same question I was: is it still safe to travel to Moab for spring break?
At that time things were changing so fast that what seemed reasonable one day was clearly out of the question the next. As the structures of our day-to-day lives shut down, we struggled to navigate the uncertainty. We found new ways to connect with our loved ones. We quickly saw an increase in positive Covid-19 cases, and Montana’s first Covid death.
Now it is June and Montanans have weathered a full month of sheltering in place, more than 500 confirmed Covid-19 cases, and almost 20 deaths. I’m sure there will be many more statistics in the coming months and years— lost revenue, businesses permanently closed, evictions, education deficits. Measurements like these are imperative in guiding how we react. At the same time, these numbers cannot possibly tell the whole story.
Covid-19 is not an equalizer as some may say. Instead, it's amplifying the racist and classist inequities in our society and further exposing a broken healthcare system that's crying for help. From a rise in attacks against the Asian and Asian American community to the unacceptable fact that Black and Indigenous peoples are dying at higher rates than other demographics, Covid-19 is literally killing communities. At the same time, we are in a strange paradox of global solidarity and loneliness.
"Covid-19 is not an equalizer as some may say. Instead, it's amplifying the racist and classist inequities in our society and further exposing a broken healthcare system that's crying for help. From a rise in attacks against the Asian and Asian American community to the unacceptable fact that Black and Indigenous peoples are dying at higher rates than other demographics, Covid-19 is literally killing communities. At the same time, we are in a strange paradox of global solidarity and loneliness." —Morgan Comey
With the gradual reopening of our state, Montana must step aside from a narrative of numbers and humanize this experience. We must resonate with the hurts and worries of our neighbors throughout this pandemic so that we can seize this societal reboot to build a future we can all thrive in, rather than rushing back to an unjust and broken “normal.”
As an organizer with Forward Montana Foundation, I collected stories from young Montanans struggling with uncertainty this April to present day. Here’s a glimpse of the individuals behind these numbers.
There is unity and strength in knowing how much our actions affect each other as we continue to live under widespread social distance and stay-at-home orders. I find hope in 8 pm community howls, collective action to grocery shop for vulnerable populations, and mutual aid networks. But at the same time, I’m hearing exasperated feelings of loneliness, isolation and abandonment. Steve, who’s name I have changed for privacy along with the rest of my peers in this article, noted the challenging financial burden facing many young adults. “It's hard to feel any sense of national unity around this when your nation forgets you,” he shared. Across the world, our country, our state and in every community, we face challenges like never before.
Healthcare workers on the frontlines continue to suffer shortages in proper equipment, fear for their own health, and long hours, but the impacts extend further. Michelle’s father works in health care and is directly exposed to Covid-19 patients. He completely moved out to keep his family safe and Michelle is not sure when she will see him again.
Allison works with cancer patients and is terrified she will asymptomatically spread and infect the very people she provides care for. “My life is extremely small right now,” she says, as she navigates a new pattern of strict social distancing, immediately washing her clothes, and showering every time she comes home from work. Yet Allison is hopeful, “My hospital is also learning from others and implementing an amazing proactive plan to prevent shortages in PPE or medication and staff illness or burn out… We solve things as a team and though we are always socially distant, I feel we are tighter than ever.”
Then there’s the financial burden of this crisis. It’s widespread, but to say it affects us all equally would be a disservice. People who’ve been laid off that were living paycheck to paycheck, small businesses, families who rely on school meals or food stamps, tribal communities, and those with unreliable internet access are among those hit hardest. Montanans are struggling to feed their families, facing possible eviction and digging into debt with no clear way out.
Young people, especially, face hardship. Pew research reports nearly half of all US workers ages 16 to 24 work in the service industry. Workers in these industries face both a high risk of exposure to coronavirus and risk of job loss to closures. An Axios-Harris survey conducted through March 30 found that 31 percent of 18 to 34-year-old respondents had either been laid off or put on temporary leave due to the pandemic, compared with 22 percent of those 35 to 49 and 15 percent of those 50 to 64.
Even Steve, our healthcare worker from before, feels financial worry. If he gets sick, he’ll be left high and dry once his paid time off runs out. Steve is frustrated by the lack of support for young adults in rent and loans and noted that some won’t even get the stimulus check because they are still claimed as dependents by their parents. Many others feel that these checks aren’t enough to cover costs of living, let alone stimulate the economy.
Claire feels the stress of losing tip wages and is tapping into her hard-earned graduate school savings to stay afloat. Beyond her current financial stress, this has huge impacts on her future. Claire is considering postponing graduate school because of concerns over student loan interest rates and the uncertainty of being in debt in our rapidly declining economy. Devon similarly wrestles with stress over long term goals of buying a home and is concerned about the effect of long term closure of small businesses on their employees. Planning at this time is extremely difficult and stressful. Experts, politicians and other leaders don’t agree on a timeline and advisories are set and then prolonged or extended, seemingly with no end.
Shakti is battling a challenging immigration scenario that’s already caused an 18 month separation of her and her husband. After eight months of waiting in vain for her husband’s green card and temporary work permission to process, Shakti and her husband decided to emigrate in the coming months. Because of travel bans, she’s not allowed to enter his country.
Members of Forward Montana are working to ensure that voices in the state which have been historically absent or under-represented—including young people dealing with economic challenges of trying to live in a booming micropolitan city like Bozeman—are heard. They are joined by affiliate partners across the country under the banner of Alliance for Youth Organizing and Alliance for Youth Action (pictured here).
With US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closed, they are trapped in the U.S. with no hope of paperwork arriving, and therefore no insurance for her husband. She wonders, “What do we do? Stay together and risk him getting Covid-19 without insurance? Or send him back to his country while I remain behind, knowing it could be months before the borders open and I can join him?”
Shakti, Devon, Claire, Steve, and many more of us all deal with these huge looming questions about our health, financial security, and emotional well being. In times like these, our social lives are relatively small potatoes. Nonetheless, students across the state, like Ellen, had their graduations cancelled. Weddings, sporting events, concerts, funerals, and birthdays have taken on a new virtual shape, been postponed or eliminated entirely. Favorite restaurants, the kinds that breathe in community and exhale nostalgia, have closed their doors. Some will never open again. Across the state, people are walled inside and this is a loss that still hurts - a small nagging hurt that gets under the skin after months of living in this new reality.
Parents are teachers, teachers are super-teachers, and a huge population has transitioned to working from home. It’s a hard time for anyone to be stuck at home, but it’s an especially hard time to be in an abusive relationship or in an ongoing struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts or substance abuse. Haven, Gallatin County’s nonprofit serving survivors of intimate partner violence, has seen a 300 percent increase in activity through their online chat system. The scariest part is not knowing when this will end, which compounds anxieties and mental illnesses.
Forward Montana is engendering an attitude—one that shows how stepping up, being counted, getting involved and giving voice to issues that need to be confronted by young generations is cool. The organization has put a special emphasis on encouraging people to exercise their democratic right to vote and it is affirming the positive contributions members of their generations are making in ways that aren't always happening from the status quo.
We shouldn’t need a global pandemic to see the brokenness that surrounds us. Covid-19 is brutally tearing the band-aid off of the shallow policies that ultimately do more harm than good. In its place, we need to imagine what it will take to build a just and sustainable future. It will require ingenuity, a diversity of thought and experiences, and creativity. And it will require policies that will save lives and provide for people's basic needs.
To our elected officials, the Coronavirus Relief Fund Task Force, and anyone else with political power, we’re asking the most of you. We ask you to invest in:
° ° ° °Healthcare solutions for uninsured Montanans affected by the virus, medical equipment, supplies, and staff.
° ° ° °Families struggling to meet basic needs - racial and economic justice solutions should lay the groundwork for any crisis relief funds.
° ° ° °Emergency rental assistance and child care assistance to directly support those most affected by this crisis - people are still going to need help with rent and child care after we reopen as they work to make up for lost income.
° ° ° °Expanding access to broadband internet across rural parts of the state and dedicating resources toward public education and outreach.
° ° ° °Safety equipment and hazard pay for our frontline workers, including: health care workers, restaurant staff, grocery store employees, child care workers, delivery drivers, and custodial workers.
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Governments are built to support and organize people during trying times like these. We hope that ours can continue to rise up and support Montanans in every way possible.
Social distance and stay-at-home orders have already helped to flatten the curve. We urge our leaders to cautiously peel back the layers of restriction, to watch vigilantly for a second round of infection, and to return to stricter policies without hesitation if necessary. This is not about people's lives versus people's livelihoods. This is about valuing our shared humanity and the future we want to build together.
So to the healthcare workers, essential workers, scientists, parents, PPE producers, farmers, therapists and many others on the front lines - you inspire us. Take care of yourselves so you can continue taking care of us.
As for the rest of us, our tasks may seem smaller, but they can have just as much impact. People with political inclination - support grassroots advocacy and contact your elected officials to advocate for financial reform and relief options.
People with money— spend it at local businesses and donate it to non profits that keep our communities thriving.
Landlords— work with your renters, support them as best you can and contact your bank about your mortgage to strengthen your support.
People with time— shop for your elderly, immunocompromised, or sick neighbors, write letters to seniors, check in with your friends in marginalized communities.
Pets—love your owners extra hard.
Everyone— treat people with kindness and respect, stand up to bigotry. Remember that we all have value, regardless of our age, race, immune system, or financial status.
About Morgan Comey
Morgan Comey is an outdoor enthusiast who dabbles in teaching, writing, community organizing and the indoors. She is the former Voter Registration Organizer for Forward Montana Foundation and is currently finding ways to make ends meet in the Northern Rockies during the pandemic.
