The Distance: Coronavirus Dispatches

In the midst of the pandemic, a new foster care model based on community living and known as a "children's village" has opened up to foster youth on the Cheyenne River Reservation. It's a collaboration between the tribe and an organization called Simply Smiles -- with members of the tribe leading the way by sharing traditional knowledge at a critical time. This story was reported with support from USC’s Center for Health Journalism.

Bianka Rodriguez is a transgender woman and activist in El Salvador who says the pandemic has hit the trans community especially hard -- and that even government aid programs discriminate against trans people.

Tanzina Vega is a journalist, host of The Takeaway, and a new mother. She gave birth to her son at the end of January--and not long after found herself raising a newborn alone while in quarantine.

Natalia 'Saw Lady' Paruz had been busking in the New York City subway for over 20 years until the pandemic forced her out -- leaving her without a place to do what she loves most. This story was reported by Drew Schwartz.

Rayan is a journalist in Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority territory, where a political lockdown imposed in August 2019 was starting to lift when COVID struck in March. We spoke with Rayan for a shorter dispatch back in April, and wanted to hear more.

Jordan Danielle experienced a mental health crisis that started in Philadelphia--but because of the pandemic, it took her two hospital admissions, an unwanted hospital release, and a solo train ride across state lines to get the care she needed.

Gabriel is a US citizen who immigrated to Stockholm, Sweden with his wife and kids because he believes it gives his family better quality of life. But with so much at stake in the US election, he decides to return so he can vote in person.

Joel’s daughter was born through IVF to a surrogate mother in Ukraine, in the middle of the pandemic. Because of travel restrictions, Joel ended up flying to Belarus alone and walking over the border into Ukraine to be there for the birth.