Speaking of Dignity

Dan Graff, Margie Pfeil, and our new host, Kelli Hickey, join us to reflect on the past year of interviews and discuss the shift Speaking of Dignity will take in future episodes. Last year was focused on encounters with people on the frontlines, those deemed "essential workers." A key thread that emerged was the revelation of systemic fissures in our society. We're in the midst of a moment in which workers on a mass scale are not willing to return to jobs that are low paid, with few benefits, and very little protections and we know now that socioeconomically poor people from Latino and African American communities are disproportionately represented in those jobs. We realized there might be an opportunity to investigate the reality of work alongside the Catholic social tradition ideal for work; to build a conceptual bridge between research and lived experience by connecting the research capacity of our University with the experiential expertise of people in the workplace. In Season 2 we aim to do just that, stay tuned.

Dylan Schwaegel has been working with Our Lady of the Road on emergency rental services during the pandemic. In partnership with the county they use federal funds to help those who are at risk of not being able to afford their rent or utilities, they also assist people experiencing homelessness with affordable housing. Dylan shares that many of the people that come to them for assistance were already living in precarious situations and the pandemic pushed them over the edge. For a lot of people just missing one or two paychecks can quickly take them down the road towards destitution. "There's an inherent dignity in all of us that cannot be abridged, cannot be ignored. When we see people fall into a situation where they don't even have their basic needs met, that should be seen as a breech of basic human dignity," states Dylan.

In October, Leah Coming came on as a staff member with Motels4Now, a new model of a low barrier shelter for those experiencing homelessness. Low barrier shelters welcome those experiencing homelessness regardless of whether or not they are clean from drugs and alcohol, however with the traditional set up of multiple beds in a row and congregate living they became potential super spreaders for COVID-19. Motels4Now converts motels into shelter offering therapy, treatment, and separate rooms for guests, reducing the spread of COVID-19. The program has been relying on county funding from the CARES Act which will keep them open for the next few months, but in the unstable context of the pandemic the long term situation is uncertain.

Since retiring from her career as a librarian, Cheryl Ashe has devoted herself to helping ex-offenders re-enter the community following their release from prison. Cheryl began this work by volunteering with her church's prison ministry, when that group dissolved she continued the work herself. Cheryl leans on the financial support and donations from her fellow parishioners to gather supplies that are needed for ex-offenders to re-enter society, but says that this work has become much harder since the pandemic began. With less attendance at church she has difficulty gathering supplies and raising funds, at a time when COVID-19 is hitting the prison system the hardest.

Stacy Odom is self employed as the director of Odom Community Development Corporation, Vice President of Monroe Park Neighborhood Association, and the primary caretaker for her mother. This past election cycle Stacy worked hard, alongside her mother, to organize people to vote by registering first time voters and getting people to the polls. We discuss how the right to vote and the responsibility to vote is connected to our understanding of the human dignity and the dignity expressed in each person's work in our society. Stacy describes how she finds a way to talk to elected officials or people in power to make her voice heard and the importance of investing in your neighborhood and local community. Through Odom Community Developers she leads a team to repair and build homes in the neighborhood she grew up in and shares the challenges the pandemic presents in continuing this work.

Dan Graff and Margie Pfeil, co-founders of the Speaking of Dignity podcast and regular hosts, review the past ten episodes and what they have learned from this project. We heard how workers needs are outpacing the protections that they need through stories from nurses needing to advocate for N95 masks and grocery store workers who meet active hostility from people averse to wearing masks. It has become clear that peoples labor is deemed essential but their lives are seen as expendable when you look at the lack of these basic protections. A common thread throughout all of the interviews is that everyone has a really unique story to tell from this pandemic. We're currently on the front end of a recent surge and in light of this share how we think the podcast will look moving forward. Listeners can continue to expect stories from the frontlines, lifting up the particular lens of each person and the dignity of their lives and their struggles.

Cecilia Stanton-Verduzco is a high school Spanish teacher of 14 years at John Adams High School in South Bend, IN. Cecilia shares that the best part about her job is working with the kids, she has a clear passion for teaching and for spending time with her students. Dan and Cecilia discuss the many challenges that teachers have confronted since the start of the pandemic. They have had to completely reinvent their curriculum to support online learning and Cecilia shares that as a language teacher in particular the loss of in-person communication has been challenging. In April and May there was a lot of applause for teachers but a shift started at the beginning of the school year with a lack of patience and empathy towards teachers who are instructing through e-learning. "You do the best you can do," says Cecilia, "everyone is trying their hardest."

Amanda Paul is a nurse at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A nurse for 11 years, she works at the hospital as a bedside nurse on a medical surgical floor caring for respiratory patients. Amanda describes what a typical day in her job looks like, a fast-paced environment working closely with her patients along with a supportive team of other healthcare professionals. She shares how this has been upended since the start of the pandemic, the fear she faced going to work everyday, and paints a picture of what it looks like to be at the front of the frontlines fighting this virus.

Robyn Klingerman runs a one woman entrepreneurial catering company called A Bite with Mee out of South Bend, IN and has navigated a few ups and downs throughout the course of the pandemic. A Bite with Mee specializes in healthy food with a mission "to create educational awareness one bite at a time by providing and encouraging healthy, local, organic, eco-conscious, sustainable practices, as well as build community and connections." She's found it difficult to juggle her business with the loss of childcare and addition of e-learning at home for her children, but ultimately has viewed the pandemic as a blessing in disguise as she finds creative ways to sustain a small business during these challenging times.

Leonel Lopez is the Outreach Coordinator with the Worker Rights and Protections Project of Indiana Legal Services. Indiana Legal Services, Inc. (ILS) is a nonprofit law firm that provides free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income residents throughout the state of Indiana. On a typical day Leo spends 5-6 hours visiting different housing units, meeting with workers throughout the state, passing out pamphlets, conversing with them, and ensuring they know their rights and are not being exploited. Due to the pandemic, many of his efforts have moved online but he still occasionally meets in person, taking careful precautions. Leo's work focuses on Fair Standard Labor Act (FSLA) claims, labor trafficking and human trafficking, and making sure low income individuals have legal representation, which is ever more important during COVID-19.

Peter Smith is the Director of the soup kitchen at St. Augustine Catholic Church in South Bend, IN. Peter has volunteered with the soup kitchen for over 30 years and directed the operations for over 20. At the start of the pandemic they struggled to figure out how to remain open and serve the local community, particularly because many of the volunteers were in a high-risk population. However, they quickly pivoted with high school and college students stepping in to volunteer and switching to carry-out food distributed outdoors. Dan and Peter discuss the challenges of trying to keep people safe but also provide an essential service and lament the lack of community- building due to social distancing guidelines and the impact this could have on culture long term.

Dr. Seth Wayne, an ophthalmologist in Ghana, West Africa, travels to various communities and district hospitals performing cataract surgeries to treat blindness. He partners with Unite for Sight to provide these free surgeries for people throughout the region. He shares how COVID-19 has impacted his work and ability to provide these necessary surgeries to an already extremely vulnerable population. He discusses how Ghana is handling the virus and how he has adapted his surgical practices to meet the needs of the times.

Brenda Buck, a custodian for Indiana University South Bend and Vice President of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union (AFSCME)  joins us on the podcast today. "As a custodian you're always on the move, you're not sitting at a desk all day. Some people are kind and considerate, but others either don't notice you or pretend not to notice you and can be very inconsiderate. It's a thankless job but it has to be done." Brenda has continued to perform her job duties through the pandemic in order to get campus buildings prepared for the return of students. She shares that they have upped the amount of cleanings they do each day, and are worried about the increased exposure to harsh chemicals as a result.Dan and Brenda discuss what potential lasting policy changes towards advancing the common good for essential workers might look like. 

Maria Catanzarite, a local TV reporter for WNDU, offers insight into the day-to-day work of a reporter and the challenges she has faced since the start of the pandemic.  Maria shares the types of stories she's covering in the news these days and why she values feature stories now more than ever. Maria and Dan discuss how news and media in general is perceived by the public, particularly with the advent of social media. She shares how the news can be a source of comfort for many people and how she strives to serve the common good in the ordinary work she does every day.

Shawn, a city letter carrier in South Bend, Indiana, shares why he chose his profession and offers insight into what a day in the life of a city letter carrier looks like. He describes how his work has been affected by the pandemic, the extra safety precautions that have been put in place, and how he is navigating that. He also shares his belief that seeing your local letter carrier continuing their route provides a sign of normalcy during this time of crisis that many have come to appreciate. We discuss the financial issues the post office is suffering due to the pandemic and how you can help.

To protect the anonymity of our guest we have refrained from using his name or identifying his place of employment. Our guest joins us to share what it’s like working at a local grocery store in the midst of a global pandemic. His work environment has changed in recent months in that there are more regular cleanings, hand sanitizer is provided to all shoppers, and they’ve installed signs that say masks are required in the store. However while most comply with these new rules, some do not and he shares openly the struggle he has faced in trying to uphold these new regulations.

The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the longstanding challenges confronting working people in the twenty-first century American economy. Though we commonly hear that COVID-19 is creating a wartime “we’re all in this together” mentality, the sobering truth is that the pandemic is disproportionately impacting particular segments of the workforce, especially those in black and brown communities. To listen to the voices of those workers whose labor we recognize as essential but who rarely get an opportunity to share in a public forum their experiences, expertise, and thoughts, the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame  is proud to announce a new podcast: “Speaking of Dignity: Workers on the Front Lines and the Common Good.”