May 4, 2021
“In the worst of humanity, you
see the best of humanity,” explains Chris Kocher, Executive
Director of COVID Survivors for Change. Before the pandemic began,
Chris was working as the Director of the Everytown Survivor
Network, organizing trainings and support groups that empowered
survivors of gun violence to share their stories and promote
meaningful change. After COVID hit in full force last spring, Chris
saw several natural connections emerge between gun violence
survivors and those impacted by the pandemic. Most notably, he
observed that, due to social distancing measures, the vast majority
of individuals who have lost loved ones to COVID have not been
afforded the support systems and closure that most people expect
after someone passes. As a result, Chris decided to create COVID
Survivors for Change, a nationwide community of people who have
been directly impacted by the current pandemic.
~
Ian Horowitz is one of these individuals. His father passed away
from COVID at a VA nursing home in Pennsylvania that was alarmingly
negligent towards its residents. Between the months of April 2020
and May 2020, 66 residents died in the facility. After speaking
with countless staff members from the home, Ian learned that
management was blatantly disregarding CDC guidelines, refusing to
provide PPE to its residents or workers, not allowing residents to
leave the facility when they needed medical attention, and sweeping
COVID-related deaths under the rug. Ian not only spoke up himself,
but also encouraged the staff members he was in contact with to
speak up. Ian explains that after months of contacting government
officials about the issue, several higher ups at the home were
either fired, demoted, or reassigned. While these results were
rewarding, Ian and his family have yet to hold a funeral for his
father.
~
Join us for this poignant and eye-opening episode of The Kayleigh
O’Keefe Show to learn more about the work Chris and Ian have been
doing to support individuals and families impacted by the
pandemic.
On our first ever dual-interview episode, host Kayleigh O’Keefe
explores just how much can change in a matter of months when a
crisis arises. Although the world has witnessed plenty of
disheartening events in the past year, Chris and Ian’s work shows
that good can still prevail when people come together to share
their support and their stories.
Quotes
• “I’ve always been outspoken. I’ve always
stood for fighting for different rights...I’ve always learned at an
early age, you speak out. If you want change in this country, you
must speak out. And I started encouraging others to just not be
quiet.” (11:22-11:40)
• “They weren’t handing
out PPE, they weren’t giving facemasks. And eventually, on April
24, my dad called me and said, ‘A bunch of people in Hazmat suits
just came into the room to remove Ed.’ And at that point, he was
pretty much turning blue….I remember talking to the ER doctor the
night my dad actually went into the hospital. He had said to me, ‘I
remember Ed Bush, and I was shocked at the condition that he came
in here.’ And this is something that you would never think a doctor
is really supposed to say, but they were so traumatized by what was
going on, that this facility most of the time was not allowing
residents to leave and go to a hospital. And in the month of April,
49 residents died.” (16:12-7:13)
• “You spend your whole
life thinking that when you lose someone it’s going to look a
certain way, and you’re going to have certain supports….I had just
gone through it with my father, but I had been able to say goodbye.
It happened pretty suddenly, but it wasn’t on that same timeline
that so many people lost loved ones with COVID. So there were a
whole bunch of things that I was able to count on – being with
family and friends and hugging people – all these things that I was
able to count on in my loss that suddenly millions of Americans
were not able to have access to.” (23:30-24:03)
• “My frustration
is...a lot of our legislative officials in different states are
trying to find past laws to grant immunity to these nursing homes
and these VAs. And they grant immunity for management from being
held accountable and being prosecuted. Where’s the advocating for
the elderly? Where’s the advocating for the veterans?”
(37:45-38:11)
• “That to me is not
just an unprecedented virus causing all of these things to happen.
That’s just total mismanagement, that’s negligence, and that’s
breaking the law. It’s murder is what this was.”
(40:10-40:25)
• “The things that
people have done to not just remember their loved one, but to
invite others into that space….To do something that started with,
‘I want to remember my loved one,’ but then grows into something
where you’re helping hundreds and hundreds of families have their
loved ones remembered is incredibly, incredibly heartbreaking, but
heartwarming and also powerful and inspiring.” (45:17-45:40)
• “Choosing love means
celebrating happiness and also celebrating heartbreak and giving
people the space to have both.” (51:08 -51:16)
~
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianhorowitz/
www.covidsurvivorsforchange.org
Twitter:
@survivorschange,
@chrisjkocher
Check out Kayleigh's leadership books: https://kayleighokeefe.com/leadership-books/
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