We’re all in this together.

The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is creating rippling repercussions for so many across the country and the world, especially for Summer Search’s students and families — such as loss of school lunches, loss of hourly-wage jobs, lack of paid sick leave, uncertainty for students returning home from college, and shuttering of small family businesses.

Even while social distancing, our Summer Search community continues to show up (via phone calls, text messages, and video chats) for each other to provide much-needed spaces to process, explore, and relate to what is happening in the world.

Summer Search alumni and staff staying connected in a Bay Area Alumni Board meeting, via Zoom. Originally shared by Bay Area alumna Melissa Nop.

So, in this time of uncertainty and disconnection, we are sharing a few methods and approaches from Summer Search’s mentoring model — which is grounded in relationships — to help us all take care of each other.

Note: The following was originally compiled and shared by the Summer Search Seattle team.

Click to view full image.

Attune to yourself first. Check in with yourself about how you’re feeling. By grounding in your own feelings first, you’ll be better able to attune to what is coming up for others next.

Listen and ask questions. Create a space to understand all the worries associated with the experience.

Affirm and follow their lead. Meet them where they are and collaboratively explore the realities from a place of empathy and curiosity.

Click to view full image.

Some Questions to Ask

• What is on your mind?

• What should we talk about?

• What are you learning about yourself right now?

• What kind of version of yourself do you want to be?

• If you could ask for help with one thing, what would it be?

• How can we practice compassion to each other and to ourselves together?

We hope these resources are helpful for taking care of yourself and reaching out to your friends, family, and community. Leave a comment below to share how YOU are staying connected and taking care!

Additional Resources:

Summer Search Philadelphia partnered with the Philadelphia Education Fund and Philadelphia Futures to produce a COVID-19 Resource Guide containing answers to frequently asked questions and resources for current and future college students.

Brooke Anderson from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley shares Six Daily Questions to Ask Yourself in Quarantine, which members of our National Program Team have been using this week.

Photo credit: Brooke Anderson.