The crew of Essential Voices shares what they’ve learned through our conversations with essential workers. 

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Walter Merino, Terence Abram, and Dr. Sara Velasco are all essential workers who went above and beyond to take care of their communities during the height of the pandemic. Walter Merino runs the Olé Soccer Club, where he coached young players from afar and made sure that even if they weren’t on the field, their team had their back. Terence Abram is an occupational therapist at a nursing facility in Los Angeles, who was there for his patients even when their families could not be. Finally, Dr. Sara Velasco has been a family physician for over 40 years and kept up her duty of care when her families needed her the most. 

Learn more about Olé Soccer Club: http://www.olesoccer.org/

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Andres Almeida is a server at a restaurant in New York, along with being a graduate student and advocate for the organization, One Fair Wage. The restaurant he works at didn’t close during the pandemic, so Andres tells us all about what it was like working during all the different stages of the past couple years, including adapting to new safety regulations, but also adapting to the attitudes of different customers. Roundtable guests: chef and host of Broken Bread, Roy Choi, and author and President of One Fair Wage, Saru Jayaraman.

Learn more about One Fair Wage: https://onefairwage.site/ 

Learn more about Broken Bread: https://www.kcet.org/shows/broken-bread

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Please note this episode deals with discussions of sexual and domestic violence.

Solange Ramkissoon has worked as part of a sexual assault response team and answers the phone when someone calls into their hotline. Throughout the pandemic when the instructions were to stay at home to stay safe from Covid, home was often the least safe place to be for those at risk of assault within the home. Throughout the pandemic when intimate partner violence increased with lockdowns, Solange and her team were answering phones and were 24/7 lifelines to support survivors. Roundtable guests: actress and advocate Gabrielle Union and expert on gender-based violence prevention and response, Lina AbiRafeh.

Learn more about SAVE of Essex County: https://www.familyserviceleague.org/save-of-essex#:~:text=SAVE%20of%20Essex%20County%20operates,%2C%20friends%2C%20and%20significant%20others.

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Last week we spoke with Miski Noor about their community organizing in Minneapolis. To continue that conversation this week, we'll speak with Benjamin Crump who is one of the foremost figures in our current social justice movement. He has represented families in multiple high-profile police violence cases, including the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. He has been leading the same fight in the courtroom that Miski and Black Visions have been leading on the front lines in Minneapolis. Part two of two. 

Learn more about Benjamin Crump: https://bencrump.com/

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Miski Noor is an organizer and writer based in Minneapolis, MN where they are Co-Director with Black Visions, a power and base-building force for Black Queer and Trans people and their families within the larger Movement for Black Lives. They were mere blocks from George Floyd when he was murdered in 2020 and can speak to what it was like protesting during a pandemic along with how transformative justice informs their vision for a brighter future in Minneapolis. Part one of a two part series. 

Learn more about Black Visions: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/home1 

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/ac998ef7-8913-4b0f-939d-c3389656540a

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Last week we spoke to Longshoreman Nicole Salima and truck driver Armando Pacheco, who are both essential workers in the global supply chain. This week we will be in conversation with Mayor Robert Garcia of Long Beach and Wall Street Journal journalist Christopher Mims, to learn more about the larger world that both Nicole and Armando participate within, how the pandemic has affected the global supply chain and how we support the folx behind the wheels and at the ports. Part Two of a Two part series. 

Learn more about Arriving Today: https://www.amazon.com/Arriving-Today-Factory-Everything-Changed/dp/006298795X

Learn more about Chain Reaction (WSJ documentary): https://www.wsj.com/video/series/chain-reaction/why-global-supply-chains-may-never-be-the-same-a-wsj-documentary/4EFE56B6-8A1D-4478-9F88-8F055AFBF675

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It takes the work of many hands to get the products we all rely on from the factory to our homes. What to the consumer may just be the push of a button, requires the heavy lifting of factory workers, longshoreman, truck drivers and hundreds more. Nicole Salima and Armando Pacheco are two of the workers responsible for that heavy lifting. Nicole Salima is a longshoreman at the Port of Long Beach and Armando Pacheco has been a commercial truck driver for decades. They both continued working throughout the pandemic in the face of progressively more difficult and more dangerous working conditions. Part One of a two part series.

Episode Transcript:https://app.trint.com/public/0d5d6fd7-1475-4af6-a683-7c13f4bf5166

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Last week in Part One of our series about EMS responders during the pandemic, we heard from FDNY EMS Lieutenant Anthony Almojera about what it was like on the front lines fighting Covid-19 in New York City. In our roundtable this week, we reflect on Anthony’s story with grief expert and psychotherapist, Megan Devine. We’ll learn more about the impact of the pandemic on medical professionals and first responders as a whole and how we process and care for each other’s collective grief.

Learn more about Refuge in Grief: https://refugeingrief.com/ 

Learn more about Here After: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1248-here-after-with-megan-dev-89497701/?fbclid=IwAR2XTDDXv5s3Ank0vdIIZscxJsid-dHx1Wp4bvWnKe1xJZaJXrsravcOjy4 

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First responders like EMS professionals are often on the receiving end of the calls we wish we didn’t have to make when an emergency hits. A job that not only sees emergencies but also the beginning of new lives, EMS responders support medical transitions of all kinds. Anthony Almojera has witnessed the full spectrum of these medical calls throughout his time as an EMS paramedic in New York City, a job that was greatly amplified when the pandemic hit. As the vice president for Union Local 3621 and an FDNY EMS Lieutenant, Anthony is also a mental healthcare advocate and support system for his fellow EMS professionals.

Learn more about: EMS FDNY Help Fund (https://emsfdnyhelpfund.com/)  

Learn more about Anthony Almojera (https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Riding-the-Lightning/9780358652878) 

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