Meet the Problem Solvers Judy Perlman

In part one of our episode "Economic Disruptions During COVID-19: Resources for Relief and Recovery," Cecilia Wallace, AmeriCorps member serving as Case Manager with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, walks listeners through applying for unemployment, food assistance and health insurance, and talks about drawing on local and grassroots supports for folks who have been financially impacted by the pandemic.

In part two of our episode "Economic Disruptions During COVID-19: Resources for Relief and Recovery,” Professor Simon Johnson, MIT Sloan economist, lays out some of the impact the virus will have on a macroscale and envisions ways that the economy must change in our "new normal." Watch the first part of the episode here: [LINK] See Prof. Johnson's bio here: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/simon-johnson.

Note: The technical quality of our remote episodes is a work in progress. Thank you for bearing with us as we adjust to new recording challenges.

This episode of Meet The Problem Solvers is centered on the emotional and psychological pressures of the COVID-19 outbreak. Judy talks with social workers Laura Hutson and Brittany Jones. Laura, who works at Boston Health Care for the Homeless, shares ideas and resources that folks dealing with acute or chronic mental health stresses might use, and she and Judy offer up compassionate ways we can offer support to people we are concerned about during these stressful times.

Brittany works with justice-involved individuals as part of a Los Angeles County supportive service/re-entry program. She describes challenges her clients have dealt with during the pandemic, including the sudden loss of connection and uneven access to technology, and isolation. She and Judy talk through several “lessons learned” that can strengthen social service systems and their ability to support clients through future crises.

We round out Women’s History Month with a special episode featuring interviews with two incredible local women. First, Susan Pacheco, Executive Director of the Cambridge Council on Aging provides vital information and health resources for Cambridge’s vulnerable senior population. Then, Jessie Banhazl, Founder and CEO of urban farming solution Green City Growers, tells Judy about their work to help families and organizations increase control over their access to nutritious fresh food.

The second in our series of remote-recorded episodes, our goal is to provide useful, relevant information and insightful stories from the frontlines of this crisis that

will give audiences useful tools to make it through the pandemic.

The Cambridge Council on Aging website: https://www.cambridgema.gov/DHSP/programsforadults/seniorscouncilonaging

More Information for Cambridge seniors during COVID-19: https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19/Seniors

Learn more about Green City Growers here: https://greencitygrowers.com

Green City Grower's Book: https://greencitygrowers.com/shop/the-urban-bounty-book/

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Caitlin Frumerie, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, returns to Meet The Problem Solvers to talk through the challenges of designing and constructing COVID-19-related services for people living without homes, working in real-time. Caitlin outlines the importance of transparency, coordination, and advocacy, and highlight solutions such as outsourcing and system-level planning that have been successful and are replicable on a larger scale.

Susan Yanow, the founder of Women Help Women, joins Judy in the studio to talk about her vital and revolutionary work for reproductive rights. She teaches people how to safely self-administer abortion pills and is an advocate for the bodily autonomy of women and all people who can get pregnant. Check out the Women Help Women website here: https://womenhelp.org/