Covid-19
Like so many of us when Covid-19 hit the news, I wasn’t too concerned; after all, the previous pandemics didn’t touch Australia. When Covid hit the Australian shore, I paid more attention. But still, I was not worried. I kept an ear on the news but went about my life as usual. When the first lockdown hit, I could still go to work in my cleaning business, as could my employees. We lost some clients however the hit to the business was small and short-lived.
My life still went about as normal. I dropped my son at school, I went to work, I went shopping, I visited my best friend once a week for our Friday night wine. Corona wasn’t a big deal despite what I had seen in the news. I received the government business cash flow boosts and to be honest, life was pretty sweet. It’s not like I went out much anyhow; I thought Covid could be a blessing to me.
Oh, how naive I was! Fast forward a year and several outbreaks and lockdowns and things are looking pretty dim. My business lost all the cash flow boosts. Clients and employees are unstable. Small businesses like mine are going bankrupt. Everything we have worked for is gone. Stress from financial strain and loneliness from the lack of social contact is driving up domestic violence (Statistical Bulletin, 2020). Mental health is deteriorating due to reduced access to support networks (WHO, 2020).
Now more than ever, we need people. Wherever possible (lockdown dependant), I want you to go out and speak with people. Reach out for support to fill your social buckets. Please don’t suffer alone; let us guide and support you because it’s okay, not to be okay! This pandemic has left no one untouched and I am personally grateful to the Women’s Mentoring Foundation (WMF) for my internship when things looked dark. WMF believed in me and my ability when I was not so sure and frankly depressed. The Women’s Mentoring Foundation expressed gratefulness for my contribution to the organisation, and game me tasks which supported the pivot in my professional life. This increased my self-belief and allowed me to take back the driver’s seat of my life and career. Not will I let life’s circumstances control me.
The women’s Mentoring Foundation did this for me, yet I am not a client. The WMF lives its values in all it does with clients, its team, and the community.
So welcome to our community.
Article Written By: Charli Lee
Reference
Statistical bulletin. (2020). The prevalence of domestic violence among women during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-07/sb28_prevalence_of_domestic_violence_among_women_during_covid-19_pandemic.pdf
World Health Organisation (WHO). (Oct 2020). COVID-19 disrupting mental health services in most countries, WHO survey: World Mental Health Day on 10 October to highlight urgent need to increase investment in chronically underfunded sector. https://www.who.int/news/item/05-10-2020-covid-19-disrupting-mental-health-services-in-most-countries-who-survey
