Are You Aware? On the Street — Greater Love Hath No Man

This is part III in our “battlefronts” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here.

Are you an essential worker? I am. Every day I go out into the world to help you, my friends, to be able to remain safe.

I am not a nurse like Kious Kelly, a 48-year-old assistant nurse manager at Mount Sinai West. This is the hospital in NYC where nurses wore trashbags because they did not have access to the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE). Kious Kelly died of COVID-19.

I am not a doctor like Frank Gabrin who had texted a friend to report the lack of PPE in the emergency room where he worked in NYC. This 60-year-old man died of COVID-19 10 days after that text.

I am not a grocery store worker like Leilani Jordan who wanted to continue to work because she wanted to help people. She was a disabled 27-year-old woman who worked at a Giant Food Store in Maryland. She was essential. She died of COVID-19.

I am not a police officer like Jose Fontanez of Boston. Officer Fontanez had nearly 30 years on the job. He was 53 years old and the father of four children. He died of COVID-19.

I am not a firefighter like Israel Tolentino, Jr. He was a father of two. He was just 33 years old. He died of COVID-19.

In addition to these, there are the bus drivers and transit workers, sanitation workers and mail carriers, public works employees, delivery drivers and food plant workers and farm workers. These people are all working so that you are able to stay home.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

I am an officer in the local building department. Our job has changed in these past few weeks. Construction, except emergency repairs or work on essential infrastructure in New York State, should be stopped due to the executive orders that have been issued by our governor. These rules are important to follow. We are trying to flatten the curve. Instead of doing construction inspections and property maintenance inspections, we are now working with the assistance of our police department to ensure the executive order is followed. Whenever we have to enforce this order, it puts us in contact with people — exactly what we are trying to avoid.

While I understand that people are panicked, hoarding hand sanitizer is not going to make you safer. Having some hand sanitizer on hand is responsible. One of the things I have read over and over (and have experienced myself) is essential workers working without the exact things that we have seen reports of people hoarding. There are stories of grocery store and pharmacy workers who have no hand sanitizer to use at work and there are none on the shelves of the stores they serve in. New York State has taken a novel approach, making hand sanitizer utilizing prison labor. This product is only being distributed to government entities and not-for-profit organizations, however.

If you are not an essential worker, you should be home most of the time. You probably have access to soap and water in your home; you probably do not need as much hand sanitizer as you think you do. Keep one in your car for when you are away from home. When shopping, leave it on the shelves of the stores so the workers have access. Even better, give your extra bottle to your sanitation worker, mail delivery person, or grocery worker.

We are being advised to wear masks at all times when out in public. Today I was gifted a cloth mask, made by some of the people in the community. It is a beautiful thing. I am grateful that these people thought to bring them around to us. This pandemic is a catastrophe. It makes me think of the Fred Rogers’ quote to “look for the helpers.” If I am essential, then those who make the masks are essential too. They are working to keep others safe. Whenever you follow the rules that have been set up for our protection, you, too, are a helper.

Charlotte Mountain is the anti-racism committee lead for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.