A Black Lives Matter protest more accessible to those in the disabled community is being organized for next Friday in Portsmouth.
As a single mother of two boys, one 9 and one 4, Christina Darling was more than happy to work to keep a roof over their heads, but she found herself caught in a vicious circle.
“You need to work to pay the bills, but in order to work you need child care, but in order to get child care you need money and in order to get money you need to work,” she said.
Staff shortages are hamstringing child care businesses just as their services are in high demand as the pandemic wanes, the tourist season takes off, bosses pressure workers to return to the office and the state cuts supplemental federal benefits to force the unemployed back to work.
On Tuesday, June 1, Keith Howard, executive director of Hope for New Hampshire Recovery was excited. For the first time in more than a year, Howard announced, the Manchester nonprofit would be holding indoor recovery meetings, doing away with COVID precautions like temperature taking, social distancing, and — most significantly — mask requirements.
Over the past year, the world adapted to virtual zoom meetings and reading facial expressions from behind masks, so it’s no surprise that social and conversational skills may be rusty for many. While the shift to a remote workplace and personal quarantine was generally challenging, it likely became a haven for those suffering from social anxiety disorder. Now, as the nation begins to return from a state of quarantine, doctors and academics alike are exploring how the return will impact those with anxiety disorders along with the general population.
