Communities Conquering COVID

As non-profits nationwide are adjusting to challenges with program delivery, fundraising, and administration in a socially distanced world, The ACE Project faces an even bigger hurdle: Southland Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit are some of the hardest hit areas by COVID-19, particularly for fatalities among low-income African-Americans. A lot has changed in our daily lives in effort to reduce the spread of the virus, but the need for services and resources outweighs each community’s capacity. Fearlessly, our program leaders have risen to the challenge by adapting our model to accommodate the digital space while also addressing the immediate needs of families in our communities. ACE in Place was not originally in the plans this season, but thanks to our heroic ACE Team, local youth and their families will continue being served to help them stabilize through this traumatic event.

We spoke with Coaches Dedra Burnett, Director of Programs & Services in Chicago, Ebonye Jones, Director of Programs & Services in Baltimore, and Ray Haggard, Site Coordinator at UPrep in Detroit, about their experiences with the pandemic and how it’s shaped their outlooks for local families.

How has life changed in communities as we work together to minimize the spread of COVID?

Aside from doing wellness checks, our Parent Mentors are writing an anthology of short stories on community and COVID-19 with our partners at Adventures in Reading.

Coach Burnett: The ACE Project Chicago had to cancel all after-school programs in Riverdale/Dolton. We also had to stop the Parent Mentor Program. District 148 implemented a breakfast and lunch program for families to pick up every day. The district also has a remote learning as well as a virtual learning program in place for students on a daily basis. Its website continues to update everyone during this pandemic.

Coach Haggard: The ACE Project Detroit was cancelled in compliance with the State of Disaster directive by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, closing school buildings and moving education online for the remainder of the school year. The closure of school buildings, and cancellations of all school year activities is the best decision for our community! We are truly disappointed not to be able to provide these opportunities for our scholars, but as always safety must come first! We are strongly supporting the “Stay at Home” initiative.

Coach Jones: The Baltimore community has pretty much halted all in-person programing due to the “Stay at Home” ordinance imposed by the state. Organizations are currently working to provide virtual programming and resources. In efforts to stay engaged with our participants, ACE is implementing digital programming, conducting wellness checks and identifying needed resources to connect program participants to. These measures are allowing us to stay connected and minimize exposure to COVID-19.

Coach Burnett: Our Parent Mentors created a plan to assist the community with getting food, medicine, and supplies. This procedure also serves as a wellness check for seniors. Susan Klumpner, ACE’s Executive Director, is connecting families to masks, which are hand-made and donated.

Several donors, such as the Nice Chicks with Sewing Machines, provided hand-made masks to ACE so we can distribute them to families in need.

Coach Haggard: The circumstance of events surrounding COVID-19 has been devastating to our communities. When the time comes and it is safe, we will continue to provide great opportunities for our youth participants.

What obstacles might students experience as a result of this extended break?

Coach Haggard: Most obvious it will be an adjustment period for students and staff once school resumes. But I foresee an immediate impact of our program structure and size once programming is allowed to continue. Once again safety is always our primary concern, we must be innovative to produce structural concepts for our programming that will adhere to any local, state, or federal guidelines. Which may mean reducing the number of participants per session and increasing the number of sessions per week.

Coach Jones: Our students will be more than ready to return to “normal” school. Hopefully, they will return with a new appreciation for our programming. I am concerned for students that may encounter trauma associated with a lengthy isolation. It must be daunting for students, especially those with cognitive and behavioral learning challenges to process being enclosed in their homes day after day. As students return to programming, we must be prepared to encounter the change in certain participants. We will more than likely shift our SEL curriculum to address these needs.

Coach Burnett: I fear that a lot of students will have missed out on various skills such as social emotional learning, hands on activities as well as basic socializing. I think the limited access to the internet and computers and not being able to go outside will have impacted their social skills. The time out of school will play a major role in moving on to the next grade.  If we can start ACE programs sooner than usual to ease the kids back into a normal pattern, that would be helpful.

What are your goals when the 2020-21 school year begins, and how will this experience shape your daily practices? 

Coach Jones: Once students return to school, our goal is to expand our reach to middle school students in order to create a continuum of interest in the game. In doing this, our participants will stay engaged with tennis and also would be active for a longer period of time, which could help to combat childhood obesity.

Coach Haggard: Our goal is to continue to impact and invest in our youth through quality programming and building character in our youth through athletics. We will increase hand washing, equipment cleaning, and any social distancing guidelines.

Coach Burnett: We will have a greater focus on hygiene and the importance of respecting everyone's space. We will have to appreciate the fact that we should be more friendly and forgiving of each other. We have to let them know that their feelings are normal and it's ok to feel the way they do. My goal is to make the kids feel as safe as possible. I need them to know that school is a safe place for them. I want to bring back the normal and remember what it was like before the pandemic.

Thanks to our friends at USTA Sectional offices, ACE was able to connect families lacking digital access to Net Generation tablets with pre-loaded educational apps.

Coach Jones: This experience brought a strong spotlight to our communities where black and brown families face serious disparities when it comes to health care, hunger, and the digital divide.

What have you missed most through social distancing?

Coach Jones: Obviously, I really miss coaching, and the opportunity to engage with my players. One of the things I am also looking forward to is having a nice meal at an ultra-fancy restaurant.

Coach Burnett: I've missed the kids. I really, really miss them. They are the most important part of my job. I miss the hugs, smiles, the interactions and it brings tears to my eyes that it took this pandemic to bring into realization that the kids have in my daily life. We will find other ways to show our emotions, but I'm sure they will get the message.

Coach Haggard: I think we take it for granted how important human interaction and building relationships are to us socially and emotionally. Without question I miss working with the youth in our community! They bring a sense of joy and gratitude into my life!