EPISODE · Mar 20, 2026 · 59 MIN
Highlights Part 6 The Pandemic’s Lasting Impact on Human & Mental Health
from Voices of the Community · host <itunes:georgekoster>, Voices of the Community, George Koster, Eric Estrada, Kasey Nance, Paula Arrigoni, Andy Kawanami, BAVC Media, bavc media sf commons, ksfp102.5fm, KSFP, kpca 103.3fm, kpca, Alien Boy Productions, Citron Studio
“The energy devoted to treating mental health and reaching people who have mental health conditions is going to be on fire for not just this year, but for a while, because we don’t know exactly how deeply this pandemic and the mental health conditions that came out of it… we don’t know how long it’s gonna affect people yet. We just know it has impacted people and it will be for some time.” — Jennifer Baity - Mental Health Services Expert and Therapist | Find Out More About Jennifer in Episode 71 KEY TAKEAWAYS & TIMESTAMPS [01:09] Mental health workers as frontline heroes—Edgewood Center’s 24/7 PPE crisis care for children and the hidden toll on staff [13:08] Shy students find their voice—Women’s Audio Mission’s Girls on the Mic program transforms virtual learning into unexpected confidence [19:04] California’s $235 billion arts economy loses 100,000 jobs—and the innovative funding models fighting to bring them back [45:35] East Oakland builds its own safety net—Roots Community Health Center launches the Bay Area’s first walk-up COVID testing site GUEST BIOS & RESOURCES Featuring 19 community leaders including Dr. Noha Aboelata (Roots Community Health Center), Julie Baker (Californians for the Arts), Sekeenah El-Amin (Third Street Youth Center), and Elena Botkin-Levy (Women’s Audio Mission). Organizations featured: Edgewood Center for Children and Families (edgewood.org) BM Magic, SF Public Defender’s Office SF Arts Commission | Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) Flower Piano at SF Botanical Garden (sfbg.org) Z Space – The Red Shades (zspace.org) Returning to the Stage Study – AMS Planning & Research / Elon University Check out the Full guest bios, transcripts, of our Highlight Episode 6 and dive into the 105 episodes of the Covid-19 series archive: Sign up for Voices of the Communities e-Newsletter Make a tax-deductible donation at voicesofthecommunitydotcom—every dollar directly funds the next series. Subscribe to Voices of the Community wherever you listen. Leave a rating and review to help these stories reach more ears. CREDITS Host & Producer: George Koster | Co-Host & Associate Producer: Eric Estrada | Design: Kasey Nance, Citron Studios Broadcast Partners: KSFP-LP FM 102.5 (San Francisco) | KPCA-LP FM 103.3 (Petaluma) Content Note: This episode discusses mental health, isolation, structural racism, unemployment, and community health disparities. Transcript available at georgekoster.com. #VoicesOfTheCommunity #COVID19Impact #BayArea #MentalHealthMatters #ArtsAreEssential #HousingIsHealthcare #IndependentJournalism #CommunityHealth © Voices of the Community | No corporate sponsors. No gatekeepers. Just the voices that matter. 🎧Explore Our Award-Winning Special SeriesIf you enjoyed this episode, dive deeper into our 4-part legacy of impact:Where Art Meets Impact: How creativity drives systemic change. Season 1 and Season 2From Bankruptcy to Reinvention: The story of Stockton’s resilience. COVID-19’s Impact Series: Navigating the pandemic's effect on our community.Making the Invisible Visible: Discover the untold stories of finding home.
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What this episode covers
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a children’s mental health crisis, devastated a creative workforce already living on the edge, and forced community health centers in the Bay Area’s most underserved neighborhoods to reinvent care from the ground up. In this final highlight episode, 19 frontline leaders reveal how they fought back—and why the recovery is far from over. Sixty minutes. Nineteen voices. One mission.
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Highlights Part 6 The Pandemic’s Lasting Impact on Human & Mental Health
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