Op-ed: The ‘K-shaped’ pandemic recovery is killing people on Indy’s near east side

My neighbors are hurting.

For months, as the COVID-19 pandemic has raged, they’ve struggled to find work, to feed their children, to pay the rent.

They’ve struggled to protect themselves and their families from a virus that, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has caused or contributed to more than 200,000 deaths in the United States since January.

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They’ve struggled to retain hope amid the worst health crisis in a century, the worst racial and social unrest in 50 years and an economic downturn the International Monetary Fund described as the worst since the Great Depression.

Hope is a precious commodity. When it’s lost, the consequences for human life are devastating.

This year, as despair settled like a heavy fog on the near east side of Indianapolis, the team I lead at Shepherd Community Center has witnessed spikes in suicides, drug overdoses, naloxone use and violence.

My neighbors aren’t just hurting. Far too often, they are dying, tragically and unnecessarily.

Economists have described the current economic rebound as a “K-shaped” recovery. In many cases, people of means before the recession hit have been able to maintain steady income as they work from home.

Savings rates have actually increased as vacations were canceled, dining out declined and vehicles sat in the garage. And the housing market in parts of Central Indiana this year has been hotter than ever.

But many of my neighbors – our neighbors – are still hurting as the recession lingers.

Thousands of workers employed in the service and hospitality industries faced a sudden loss of employment and a drastic drop in income as restaurants, office buildings, hotels, sports venues and the convention center shut down because of the pandemic.

Many still haven’t been able to return to work. And for some, the jobs they held for years will never come back.

The pandemic has been described as an “extinction event” for the restaurant industry, and we’ve already seen a growing list of restaurants in Indianapolis close permanently.

The hotel, tourism and event industries have been slow to recover and may retool procedures to permanently reduce costs, including payroll. The trend toward automation in the manufacturing, retail and logistics sectors will likely accelerate as a result of the pandemic.

Even worse, the damage may last for a generation.

Recent studies indicate that students from lower-income families (who are disproportionately Black and Latino) have suffered significant losses in education attainment because of school shutdowns and the pivot to e-learning.

Their ability to one day land family-sustaining, growth-oriented jobs could be forever lost without significant intervention.

As a result, the pandemic recession threatens to dramatically widen the nation’s pre-existing economic and social divide. It’s a threat with enormous and severe implications for my neighbors on the east side – and for our city, state and nation.

At Shepherd, our call to respond has been clear. In the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 shutdown, we distributed, with the help of our corporate and community partners, tens of thousands of meals to neighbors in need.

We’ve provided direct financial support in certain cases as well as assistance with housing. We distributed hardware to our families to enable students to engage in e-learning and installed a mobile hotspot in our parking lot. 

We’ve provided prayer, spiritual encouragement and regular check-ins with neighbors to support and encourage them through this uniquely challenging time.

And city paramedic Shane Hardwick, whose salary we help underwrite, and other members of our Shalom Project team provided urgently needed medical care and support during the height of the pandemic, enabling at-risk neighbors to remain in their homes and avoid visiting emergency rooms and doctors’ offices.

The Shalom Project is made possible with the support of partners such as Elanco, Gleaners, Ezkenazi Health and the Fuller Center for Housing.

For the long term, we are committed to make career training an even higher priority.

Across the city, nonprofits like Shepherd continue to work hard to help families meet essential needs. The business community’s assistance has been deep, wide and sustained. And the public continues to give generously, despite, in many cases, uncertainty in their own finances.

I am incredibly thankful for our community’s amazing response to neighbors in need. I know my neighbors are thankful as well.

Yet, it’s critical to understand that the health, economic, education and social consequences that COVID-19 has wrought will not soon fade. The needs in our city and beyond are still great – and will remain so for months, if not years, to come.

As a year unlike any we’ve experienced races to an end, much work remains.

My neighbors – our neighbors – are still hurting.

They still need our help.

Jay Height is executive director of Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis.