Hey there --

As more states move towards a phased reopening without adequate relief aid or a comprehensive testing plan from the federal government, it’s the people at the heart of this crisis -- the frontline workers and essential personnel putting their lives on the line to keep our families healthy and fed -- who are most impacted by this failed response. As many clamor for a “return to normalcy,” we must keep their stories and the human impact of real, human lives, front and center.

Here are five stories from folks that cannot be forgotten as states reopen. If one moves you, will you share to help make sure others see it too? >

→ “I’m risking my own personal health, and then to be vilified just because of what I look like…I try not to think about that possibility when I’m at work taking care of patients. But it’s always there, at the very back of my mind,” says Doctor Lucy Li, explaining the fears of many Asian American health care workers as racism and harassment is on the rise.

A long-haired woman in a face-mask, white doctor's coat, and scrubs looks into the camera as she shares her story.

→ “We are providing an essential service to our communities, as vital and important as doctors, nurses, law enforcement, and grocery workers. Yet, we’re not getting any assistance despite us paying just as much taxes as anyone else,” Zoila Toma, a childcare provider who immigrated from El Salvador, outlines the struggles of immigrants to receive equal coronavirus relief from the Trump administration.

a woman in a green and white polka-dotted blouse looks into the camera as she shares her story.

→ "I worked on it alone, sixteen hours a day for two months, most of which I was never paid for, and now that this has happened I'll probably never get paid for," says scientist Rebekah Jones, who created Florida’s COVID-19 data portal and was fired for refusing to manipulate the data.

A blonde woman sitting in front of two computer monitors looks into the camera to share her story.

→ “We just want to brighten their day,” say Asian American chefs from across New York City who are working overtime to provide free meals to essential workers despite growing anti-Asian bias in the country, “even if it’s just a little tiny bit with the taste of home.”

a man in a black baseball cap looks down and to the left as he shares his story.

→ “This place is a petri dish,” reads actor Jenali Alladin as he shares the story of Anthony Swain, who is currently incarcerated. “...I see them take sick and injured people and put them back with the general population when they need to be in medical housing.”

a bearded man in a gray shirt looks down as he shares the story of an incarcerated man.

Thanks for making sure that these important stories aren’t swept under the rug.

In solidarity --

The PeopleGreater Team

P.S.: See more stories from the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic or share your own by going to FrontlineStories.US.