Dr . Andrea , the social epidemiologist , is conducting interviews with food workers to learn more about their experiences during the pandemic and to identify workplace and policy-level strategies .
“ A lot of these stressors are rooted in the financial impact , so if they are experiencing housing or food insecurity , locally , we have the Rhode Island Community Food Bank ,” she says . “ If they ’ ve got housing issues , we ’ ve got RI Housing , which might connect them with resources for dealing with eviction .”
To deal with stress , many hospitality professionals turn to exercise , yoga , meditation , unplugging from social media and reading . Brimmer at Rhody Roots has initiated staff hikes on local trails and she encourages employees to take mental health days if they need them .
“ Even before this happened , I was open about my stuff because I always want everyone to feel they are not alone , and they can talk to people ,” Brimmer says . “ It ’ s important that we normalize mental health and we talk about that with the staff . It doesn ’ t make you bad , it just makes you different . Now they are very vocal about their
unity ”
Shop small , support your community
stuff . I am like , “ if you need time off , your mental health is just as important as your physical health .’ ”
For Andrew Kientz , taking mental health breaks out in nature is also essential . He ’ s a bartender , staff member and jack of all trades at Industrious Spirit Company [ ISCO ] in Providence and Bywater restaurant in Warren .
“ It ’ s getting out of the city , away from everything . Finding open spaces ,” says Kientz , who started running , too . “ It ’ s my own refuge . I go myself a fair bit , and sometimes with my partner . It ’ s restorative and relaxing .”
Kientz had to take temporary leave from both of his jobs in mid-December after receiving a positive COVID-19 diagnosis . He can ’ t pinpoint how he got it as he says he was careful about avoiding exposure . He quarantined inside his apartment apart from his partner , who took residence upstairs while he remained downstairs , unless one of them needed the upstairs bathroom or downstairs kitchen , then they switched places .
When he received the positive diagnosis , both of the businesses where he worked had to shut down . They both closed to be fully sanitized and while waiting for other staff members ’ tests to come back , ruling
out exposure . It was a heavy mental load to carry for Kientz .
“ When I first got the diagnosis , it was around ten or eleven in the evening . I got it in an email from a PCR test that I had taken at the beginning of the day . It was a rush of a lot of different emotions ,” he says . “ I felt a little disbelief and fear on a number of levels . I live with my partner and she has some medical history that made this a little bit more nerve-wracking were I to expose her to it .”
His partner was diagnosed with non- Hodgkin ’ s lymphoma in her early twenties , and her lungs are weakened from going through the radiation treatments . Contracting COVID-19 would have put her at severe risk , Kientz says .
“ I immediately thought of how the businesses where I work were going to have to shut their doors for some amount of time and I just hoped that I hadn ’ t passed it on to anyone ,” he says .
In the end , he avoided spreading the coronavirus to his partner . And by sharing his diagnosis with his workplaces , which in turn took immediate action , he also avoided exposing coworkers and guests . >>
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