Opportunity for BIPOC individuals 18 and up dealing with long COVID to share their stories

Categories: COVID-19 | Other opportunities | Research

Timotheus (T.J.) Gordon, Jr.

Friday, January 6, 2023

Image Descriptions Top First picture: A person with a medical grade mask inside a car, getting their nose swabbed by a medical person wearing blue gloves and a long white jacket Second picture: A child with black hair, wearing a medical grade mask, holding on to a person with black-grey hair and a grey shirt. Third picture: A person with long black hair and blue eyes, wearing a white shirt and medical grade mask Bottom Logos for the following organizations: Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition (Chicagoland DPOCC) The Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Morehouse School of Medicine National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN)

January 6, 2023

Subject: Opportunity for BIPOC individuals 18 and up dealing with long COVID to share their stories

For Immediate Release 

When people continue to experience symptoms that persists months after first being infected, or have new symptoms at a later time they have long COVID.

Long COVID can now be considered a disability under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

However, in communities of color, there are still barriers and stigma that people with long COVID face in accessing healthcare, support, and services to survive and thrive. Their voices must be heard! 

Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition, supported by the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois Chicago, is launching a podcast series where people with lived experiences with long COVID can share how they accessed care for long COVID, barriers to getting care for long COVID, and how long COVID have affected their lives. The focus will be on BIPOC people living in the Chicagoland area, though we are also open to share stories of anyone affected by COVID-19 who live in the United States. 

This project is supported by Morehouse School of Medicine and the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN) through their mini-grant. 

We are looking for at least ten storytellers who identify as BIPOC (Black, First Nations/Native American/Indigenous, or Person of Color) to share their stories about how LONG COVID has affected their lives. This can include work, school, personal, healthcare, and anything else they would like to share. The first ten participants will receive a $50 gift card after their first interview.

If you’re interested in telling your story about long COVID, sign up and fill out the interest and media forms at  https://go.uic.edu/Long_COVID19_Storytelling_InterestForm by Friday, January 27th, 2023 at 11:59 PM.

Interviews will take place in February 2023; participants will have the option to either be interviewed in-person or virtually.

For any direct questions and concerns contact:

  • Brittany King (brittanyking121@gmail.com)
  • T.J. Gordon (tgordo7@uic.edu)
  • Jae Jin Pak (jjpak@gmail.com)

Share this opportunity with your networks, especially those with long COVID who would like to share their story!