COVID-19

COVID-19, Ebola, and Racism

Amari Poindexter, 17, lives in Leland, North Carolina. Poindexter says the indifferent attitudes and racist reactions during the coronavirus pandemic in coastal North Carolina remind her of how her peers responded to the Ebola outbreak when she was in middle school. Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, Coastal Youth Media podcast brings you real people…

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HIV, Hurricanes & COVID-19 in coastal North Carolina

When people living with HIV in coastal North Carolina talk about how they prepared for Hurricane Florence, their considerations are about the same as the average person – with exceptions. HIV-positive community members have to think about their medications – how they’ll get them and where they’ll store them. They have to think about access…

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HIV & COVID-19

Jeff Mills, 72, talks about how the coronavirus pandemic compares with the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the 1980’s and his life experiences as an activist. Mills has lived in Wilmington, North Carolina with his partner since 2013. Before moving to the southeastern U.S., Mills spent over fourty years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He’s a…

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Hair Salon Owner Discusses COVID-19

Le’Shawna Brunson-Smith says the stimulus bill won’t be much of a help making up for the incoming she’s losing during the coronavirus. Brunson-Smith is the owner of Ladies Hair Design on Castle Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. Since Governor Cooper ordered the shut-down of hair salons, she’s been out of work. To make up for…

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Instacart: Lifeline for Neighbors

Rebecca is normally a grade school teacher second, but with schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, she’s delivering groceries for Instacart. Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series compiles community stories about COVID-19 from coastal North Carolina.

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COVID-19 & Gaps in School Food Distribution

Michael Turner, 42, is a math teacher at West Carteret High School in Morehead City, North Carolina – a rural, coastal town of 9,000 people. He runs the food pantry which supplements free & reduced lunch with take-home groceries. Now his job is  to find and fulfill the gaps or ‘soft spots’ in school food…

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COVID-19 & Hurricane Recovery in African American Neighborhoods

Diana Tootle, 58, lives in Morehead City, North Carolina. Tootle speaks to the intersection between Hurricane Florence and COVID-19 in her historically African American coastal community. Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series compiles community stories about COVID-19 from coastal North Carolina.

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Veteran Living in Quarantine

James (Jim) Wall is 75 and currently in quarantine with his step-grandchildren. Wall is a retired attorney and disabled veteran who lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. He suffers from a heart condition and diabetes, and needless to say – he’s part of the population most vulnerable to coronavirus. Still, he’s staying positive, taking precautions, and…

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COVID-19 & Unemployment

Yasmine is a single mother living in coastal North Carolina. Since her restaurant closed, she’s been out of work – but she’s making the most of her time with her daughter. She reflects on how her day-to-day has and will continue to change in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s changing up her routine at…

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Hurricanes & COVID-19 Affect Seafood

Melvin Dunn, 41, is a shrimper in Beaufort, North Carolina. Dunn lost a shrimp season with Hurricane Dorian last September and now faces further impacts from COVID-19 on the seafood industry. Dunn is from the South River – a predominantly black coastal community in Beaufort, NC. With increasingly intense hurricanes affecting his catch, Dunn decided…

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