What Now?

It’s funny how trite all of the first drafts of this opening paragraph sounded as I was reading them back. You’ll never get to read them, sorry. So many things have already been said about the situation in which we currently find ourselves, but, it is interesting how the sudden forced change of pace really forces you to think through everything with a different filter. I’ve been a bit quiet recently because, as many of you know, this is a side project for me and I’ve had my own set of things to consider as it relates to keeping life in order. However, that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped thinking about Osity and all of the social enterprises out there who are trying not only to simply survive, but also continue on with their mission of doing good in the midst of all of this.

I feel for these companies, many of them employing the vulnerable and marginalized who may be just transitioning from a bad situation, whether homelessness, recent incarceration, or some other unfortunate life event. I think about All Square, a grilled cheese restaurant in Minneapolis whose staff is made up of “fellows”, formerly incarcerated individuals looking to get back on the right track through employment and education. They, along with many other restaurants across the country, had to make the hard decision to shut their doors for an undetermined amount of time. I think about The Giving Keys, a company who makes jewelry out of keys and employs individuals transitioning out of homelessness in Los Angeles. They were ordered to close as a part of LA County’s “Safer at home” order. We all hope that by closing down and using social distancing that we can minimize the duration of significant impact, but at this point we just don’t know what the timeline is.

We may not be able to fully grasp how significant this event will be on us quite yet. However, one thing we do know is that we have more time than normal to consider how we can use the skills and abilities we’ve been given to come out of this more prepared for what’s next. So, what is next? All of the things we were fighting for a couple months ago haven’t simply gone away — social injustice, inequality, climate change, poverty, access to clean water and good food. In fact, recent articles I’ve read are illustrating how this pandemic is serving to highlight many of these even more so. How do we take advantage of this time to prepare for what’s next? What can we be doing now to continue serving those causes we care so deeply about? What opportunities are making themselves more noticeable now?