As Pandemic Drags On, West Rockers Emerge For Masks

They came for masks. And they spoke of the ongoing challenges posed in their daily lives by the pandemic that make the masks necessary.

Some have lost jobs and are having trouble making ends meet. Others fear contracting Covid-19 and infecting families.

And some feel … cooped up or bored from the isolation.

West Rockers offered those observations Monday afternoon as they came to the city’s latest Covid-19 mask giveaway, held on Solomon Cross. The giveaway was organized by Rodney Williams, the owner of Green Elm Construction, who has been staging similar events in neighborhoods around town. (Read about prior giveaways here and here.)

Fall leaves from West Rock shone against the misty sky. A car radio nearby blared music as neighbors came, greeting each other. Williams asked families what they needed as he gave out masks – up to 90 or 110 at a time. At the end of the giveaway, he reported distributing a total of 4,000.

“I can’t go out anymore,” said Ruth Hoskie. Hoskie is the tenant president for the Twin Brook complex (the rebuilt former Ribicoff Cottages). But these days, she doesn’t leave her apartment much. She doesn’t own a car, and at age 68, she doesn’t feel safe riding buses. ​“I only came here today because my friend gave me a ride,” she said.

For Linda Gray (pictured), the struggles relating to Covid-19 are personal. ​“My brother passed away,” she said. ​“And so did some of my friends. I grew up with them, right in this neighborhood.”

Gray thanked Williams, picking up masks for her grandkids, who are 3, 8, and 12. She said she’s not sure if they’re going back to school when hybrid learning commences next month, and hopes it will be safe.

Indeed, Gray is worried about losing more family members: she has 11 siblings, plus her mother. ​“I’m just trying to keep [my mother] safe,” she said.

Mary Britton walked up with a smile, requesting masks for herself, her great-grandsons, and granddaughter. For her, the pandemic hasn’t changed her life much. ​“All my daughters and son work at home, and I’m retired,” she said. ​“I’m just enjoying my time at home and relaxing, which I was doing before the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Evelyn Moore has been out of work since the start of the pandemic. (Moore declined to be photographed.) She used to work at a nursing home, but ​“I just felt like my life was at risk,” she said. ​“So I quit.” It’s been difficult for her family in terms of finances.

Normally, her niece can spare her a few masks from work, but she hadn’t come in a bit. So Moore came to Monday’s giveaway to pick up masks for her three grandchildren aged 2, 8, and 10, along with her daughter. ​“My daughter was working at The Graduate,” she said. ​“She’s out of work, too.”

Alonda Boone has had a similar experience. (Boone also declined to be pictured.) Her job teaching at a daycare center almost stopped after March. ​“We didn’t do virtual learning, so I’d go in for a few hours a week for administrative stuff, but that was basically it,” she said.

Boone came to pick up masks for her two kids and nephew. Since the day care reopened in September, she’s been working full time.

“I’ve started to catch up with bills again,” Boone said.

For Winyia Corey, a high school student, the pandemic presented different challenges. ​“It was boring at the start,” she said. As places began to reopen, however, it got better. She sees her friends in their backyards, too.

As for online school? ​“It sucks a bit.” But at least she can lie in bed while taking classes, she said.

Eduardo Espino is a student at Southern Connecticut State University. He felt pretty safe going back to in-person instruction, he said. ​“People wear masks and distance.” Although he can still see his friends, ​“it’s not the same as it used to be.”

Espino is living with his parents at home, and came to get masks for the three of them. Although his parents still have jobs, they’ve had to cut down their hours. ​“We’re not the most fortunate, but not the least, either,” he said.

“How can we not be affected by” the pandemic? Gray noted. ​“It’s just all around you.”