Pandemic Attacks

Q: How has the state of mental health in Chicago changed since the pandemic began?

For the first time [employers] responded to their employees and their need for mental health support. I’d heard that years and years ago, [a hospital] wanted to do a study on the West Side around depression and heart disease, and they couldn’t get anybody to sign up. Then they changed their language to “stress and heart disease,” and had all of these men of color sign up. When we started talking about [the pandemic] as “stress” and “loneliness” and “isolation,” those