Early on in the pandemic, I created a workbook for guiding conversations about COVID-19 precautions with our households. With increased access to vaccines to all age groups, a recent surge in cases, and the likelihood of further surges over the holidays and winter months—now may be a great time to revisit any plans or agreements we had previously in place. The full text of the workbook is below, as well as a link to download the printable PDF.
Covid-19 Safety: A Household Safety Planning Workbook
See cdc.gov/coronavirus for guidance
step one: have each member of the household complete the interests and needs assessment
step two: hear from everyone about their circumstances and needs
step three: generate ideas for how to address needs where there are areas of difference and disagreement
step four: create an agreement for safety practices and care
Suggestions for this workbook:
Invite and encourage young people in the household to participate - they have a stake in a healthy, safe home
Make sure people most at risk are held as a high priority
Take a five-minute break if things get heated
Take a five-minute break if you find yourself unable to communicate your needs, reflect on why
Consider adapting for workplaces and in-person gatherings: the more we discuss our interactions and give each other agency in establishing safe space, the more likely we are to take care of each other.
1. Individual Needs & Interests:
Current Situation
Have everyone in the household complete this section on their own.
My current vaccination status and risk of exposure is:
The potential impact on me if I get COVID-19 is… (consider health, income, relationships)…
If others don’t follow safety precautions, the impact on my life will be…
I need to leave the house to…
When I do those things, I take these precautions (for myself and others)…
Draw yourself and the people you are spending time with in-person, with the people you see most often in the center and less often further away. Include their vaccination status if known.
Concerns & Safety
Currently, I am most concerned about…
I feel safe around fully vaccinated people in these circumstances…
I feel safe around unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people in these circumstances…
Needs & Requests
I receive care and feel safe when…
To feel safe at home, I’d like to request that others (do the following)…
2. Listening
Give each person time to share anything they want from the Individual Needs pages (go around one at a time)
Focus on what you can agree to do in order to keep others safe and what you need from others. Do not respond to what people share, simply take turns one-by-one. Write down below what people share in common and what their differences are.
Needs/requests:
Areas of difference:
Summarize and name the similarities, so that everyone can hear what needs, interests, and requests you all have in common.
Areas we agree/share concerns and needs:
Go through the list of differences from top-to-bottom.
Let each person share their thoughts about why they support, disagree with, or are concerned about an item. Again, don't begin a debate, simply listen to each person's thoughts and take notes below about why people disagree and potential solutions if any are named.
Thoughts on areas of difference:
3. Brainstorming Solutions
Shift from listening to brainstorming solutions for addressing differences. The following areas are where we will try to reach agreements. Identify which areas have the most disagreement and generate ideas for practices that could meet everyone's needs - spend a lot of time coming up with ideas, getting as creative as possible. Then, once you have a lot of ideas for each area, discuss whether any of the options will meet everyone's needs. Highlight the ideas you can all agree to, in each area.
We may leave the house for… (example: essential supplies (define), essential work (define), etc…
When we return we could… (example: wash hands…)
We could/might have guests over in these ways… (consider: who, how many at a time, vaccination status, testing)
We could/might communicate about guests in these ways… (consider: advanced notice, making requests rather than demands)…
When having people over we could use these precautions… (consider: communication with each other, communication with guests, social distancing, food sharing, the impact of alcohol/drug consumption on safety)…
After guests leave, we could divide cleaning responsibility in these ways…
If we leave for the holidays we might take these precautions… (consider: travel, types of interactions, with who…)
When we return we might protect each other in these ways… (consider: communication, quarantine, testing…)
If one of us has been exposed to COVID-19, that person will… (communicate + take action)…
If one of us has symptoms of COVID-19, that person will… (communicate + take action)…
Other needs & situations…
4. The Agreement
Using your brainstorm and similarities, write out what you've all agreed to. Make sure everyone has a copy of the agreement and it is posted in a place for everyone to see. Reference the agreement as needed and hold further conversations if needs change; it's okay to be flexible but try your best to stick to the plan.
We agree to the following practices to keep each other safe…
5. The (Dis)Agreement
Consider that when you disagree, each individual will need to choose how to protect themself and communicate as conflicts arise.
When we disagree, we will care for each other and ourselves in the following ways:
Opportunities to Learn + Act
The holidays can be really hard for incarcerated people. Reach out to local organizations supporting prisoners near you (or through one of the orgs below), to write to a prisoner during the holidays, new year, and hopefully continue throughout the new year.
Survivors: https://survivedandpunished.org/letter-writing-action/
LGBTQIA+ folks: https://www.blackandpink.org/
Incarcerated for cannabis: https://www.lastprisonerproject.org/holiday
In Michigan: https://michiganabolition.org/get-involved/pen-pals/
My friend and colleague Racquelle Trammel (host of Miss Mouthy podcast) is raising funds for trans women of color in Detroit for the holidays: donate here.
Have trouble accessing curiosity and play? Check out this workshop by Raina LeGrand “Good to Notice: Harnessing Curiosity to Cultivate Change” on January 19, 12 - 1:30pm EST.
Sign the petition and join a country-wide movement for commutation for Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, a truck driver recently sentenced to 110 years in prison for a trucking accident.
Sign up for the monthly consultation group for conflict facilitators, starting in January: fill out this form to receive information.
Sign up for January and February Conflict Skills courses: information here.
Celebrations of the 2021 Conflict Skills Cohort
Holly/Freedom
Holly hosts a no cost peer support offering - available at BlackAuDHD.com. Originally created to support Black hyper-marginalized folks with autism and ADHD, the support has since evolved into a culturally-responsive, peer-support space for queer, nonbinary, trans, neurodivergent, mad, and disabled folks with marginalized racial identities.
Justin Bigos
Justin is a teacher, poet, and fiction writer whose fiction chapbook Double Clothesline will be published by PANK Books in March 2022. Justin will be doing a reading in Philadelphia that month. IG: @jbigos
Learkana Chong
Learkana is a Cambodian American artist; you can find and purchase her art at: society6.com/learkana and follow her IG @wildfable91
Shengxiao "Sole" Yu
Shengxiao runs a social justice education business: Nectar. She writes a bi-weekly social justice storytelling newsletter and shares bonus content on her Patreon. IG: @lifeaffirmingnectar
More (perhaps belated) gift ideas:
