Support Grieving Students in the U.S.
A website and video series on supporting grieving students in a post-COVID pandemic reality.
Artist
Imani Fonfield (2022)
Caption
As of April 2022, there have been approximately 984,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19; underneath this stark statistic, almost 1 out of every 450 children under the age of 18 in the United States lost a caregiver to COVID-19 during the pandemic. The overall COVID-19 mortality statistics raise an incredible concern for adolescent stability and wellbeing today; I chose to focus on mental health – specifically grief for a lost caregiver – as one aspect of this unprecedented challenge. For this youth population facing the loss of a parent/guardian during the pandemic, much social/emotional support is needed more than ever, particularly given that mental disorders are already the leading cause of death for adolescents ages 5-14 years as of 2019. Yet despite the critical need for support, there are structural and social factors that are stunting proper healing processes and making this transition more difficult than it inherently is.
Support Grieving Students in the U.S.
Artist Lens
I chose a webpage as my media product to conveniently distribute narratives and facts I've collected in a digestible and mobile online platform. A webpage can be shared easily across different locations at any time and in many ways (e.g., email, text, social media, etc.). My primary audiences are local and state-wide leaders and health-related organizations; secondary audiences are local communities and students themselves to promote awareness and solidarity. My goal is first to email this project to school community leaders that I have relationships with and know of in Massachusetts (superintendents and school committee members).
Later, I aim to branch outside of Massachusetts potentially with the help of a Boston Globe editor whom I've recently been in touch with for a separate project. I hope to remind leaders and communities that youth who lost caregivers due to COVID-19 have much longer and critically important healing processes that need support inside and outside school. I want to put narratives and facts on these leaders' radars to enact community-based change, policy conversation, and implementation. I chose the design I did to express the urgency of this issue. The black and white coloring help inject pathos effects; the transition pictures between narratives emphasize the snapshots of young people's short yet powerful narratives. I also kept some (very vulnerable) clips when editing my interactive videos to evoke emotion and urgency to this topic.
Media
Webpage