Parent Perspectives: How one mom in East Palo Alto is facing the COVID-19 pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we knew that continuing our mission of integrating education, health care, and community and family resources in a remote context would be especially vital for students and families. Alongside launching a new remote learning plan, our team jumped immediately into action to begin connecting with and supporting families during this turbulent time. Families reported a wide range of needs, from rent and mortgage assistance, to food access, to employment opportunities. Our parent wellness coaches began working with parents to set goals, provide resource referrals, and help manage stress.

However, in the face of these very real challenges were also countless examples of strength, resilience, and perseverance. Parents shared that this unusual period in their lives led to more time to work on things like language development with their toddlers, or to pursue a hobby or creative activity that they never had time to work on before. Other parents took pride in seeing their eldest children stepping up to help their younger siblings. Still others began carving out time for self-care and mindfulness or even connecting with other parents at school to provide guidance and encouragement.

Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing first-hand accounts from our parents, who, like all of us, have each had their own experience of life during COVID-19.

This week, we spoke to Karla Reyna, a parent in East Palo Alto who lives with her husband and two of her three children. Her youngest, Lyla, will be entering the third grade at The Primary School in the fall. Before COVID-19, Karla had a predictable weekly routine: she worked as a driver for Uber and Lyft, took care of her family during the week, and attended church twice a week. Much of that changed with the onset of the pandemic. Overnight, she needed to help Lyla log in to our remote learning platform and work on her homework; she had to cancel a long-awaited trip to Peru; she could no longer attend church; and she had less work with Uber and Lyft.

However, Karla found solace in how well her youngest daughter handled her time at home. During regular walks around the neighborhood together, Karla was reminded how grateful she was for her family’s health. Karla also worked with our parent wellness coach, Susana Morales Lodis, to come up with manageable goals, which helped her deal with new stress and anxiety. She decided to focus her energy on organizing the house and beginning to apply for resources in the community that would help her family get through the pandemic.

Read more about Karla’s experience during COVID-19 in the interview below.

What was life like before COVID-19?

Estaba haciendo una vida normal. Como todos. Estaba trabajando para Uber y Lyft. De lunes a viernes, estaba atendiendo a mi familia y estamos yendo a la iglesia… jueves, domingo. Los fines de semana compartiendo con familia. Tenía muchos planes, pero todo cambió con el COVID-19, y creo que para muchos fue así los planes que tenías en tu mente con tu familia. Planes por hacer también. Yo también tengo planeado hacer un viaje. Perú, en Mayo. Ya no podía hacerlo. .. Puedo decir que su cumplealgo donde dice Dios los planes tuyos, no son los míos.

I was living a normal life. Like everyone. I was working for Uber and Lyft. From Monday to Friday, I would take care of my family, and then we would go to church on Thursday and Sunday. On the weekends, I was spending time with my family. I had many plans, but everything changed with COVID-19, and I think that for many it was the plans that you had in your mind with your family. I also planned to take a trip to Peru in May. [But] I couldn't do it anymore. ...

How have your children been handling this time at home during COVID-19?

Tengo dos hijos mayores. Madeline está conmigo. Mi hijo se movió. Esta tiene su esposa y va a tener su bebe. Y tengo Lyla, que tiene ocho años. Con Madeline, vive pero ella trabaja para Google. Con Lyla … es cerrado las escuelas, y ha sido un poco el cambio estar en casa. Explicara Lyla lo de COVID y de las precauciones que tenemos que tomar. Pero cuando una familia está junta y todos en casa al principio, estamos como en shock. … Pues este Lyla en la casa con nosotros, este lo maneja bien. De levantarse, están con ella como todas familias. La casa es un poquito amplia. Tenias sus pátinas. Salí a fuera y caminamos un poquito. Trato de manejarlo de esa manera y después con sus clases y sus tareas … Pero, sí creo que no ha sido fácil, pero Lyla gracias a Dios es una niña sana.

I have two older children. My 22-year-old daughter, Madeline, lives with me while she works at Google remotely. My oldest son moved out to live with his wife and they are going to have a baby. And I have Lyla, who is eight years old. Like all families, since school is closed, we’ve had to adjust since she is spending more of her time at home. But Lyla has handled it well. From when she wakes up, we go with her everywhere around the house. We go outside and we walk around. I try to handle [our days] that way after her classes and her homework… but it wasn’t easy. But Lyla, thank God, is a healthy girl.

How has The Primary School helped you overcome challenges? How has your coach supported you?

Creo que al principio del COVID, puedo decir que me afectó un poco. Anxiety, un poco de ansiedad. Un poco de mieda. Pero, con la ayuda de mi parent coach, Susana, empecé a crear metas cortas que me traería satisfaction.

I think at the beginning of COVID, I can say that it affected me. I was a little anxious. A little scared. But with the help of my parent coach, Susana, I started to create small, manageable goals that would help bring me joy.

Tell me more about your goals. What inspired you to set them? What are you most proud of accomplishing so far?

Empecé con metas en mi casa, de organizar mi casa, de ordenar mi casa, en toda mi casa. Sacar todas cosas viejas. Pero también empecé a vocar recursos. Susana estuvo conmigo mientras aplicaba para muchos recursos. Pero no fui negativa. Soy positiva en el día a día para poder apoyar a mi esposo en casa. Y tener todo en orden, y ayudar a mi esposo de una manera positiva. De saber de que en medio toda la situación, [puedes ver] muchas muertas, mucho caos, mucho enojo, mucho dolor. Y podemos tener cosas positivas en tu familia, porque no puedes cambiar el sistema, pero si podemos protegernos de cosas negativas.

I started with goals focused on organizing everything around my house. Take out all the old things, etc. But I also started calling around for resources [in the community]. Susana was with me as I was applying for many resources. But I never became negative. I stay positive every day to support my husband at home. And having everything in order, and helping my husband in a positive way. Of knowing that in the middle of the whole situation, you see so many people dying, so much chaos, so much anger, so much pain. And we can have positive things in our family. You cannot change the system by yourself, but you can protect yourself from negative things.