Midmorning With Aundrea - August 7, 2020 (Part 1)

(Part 1 of 2) The coronavirus has shut down family courts across the country, putting a burden on foster children and their parents.

And COVID-19 has put a stop to fairs, festivals, and summer concerts, making it difficult for artists to sell their wares.

So how are they getting by in the pandemic?

And August is Spinal Muscular Atrophy Month.

Today Tammy Tubbs of Starkville joins us via Zoom to raise awareness about the condition

>> we'll miss you, too.th the coronavirus has shut down family court across the country, putting a burden on foster children and their parents, waiting to be reunited.

Elise preston explains.

Pkg marjorie allen is experiencing grief& but also hope.

Her sister sharon died in april from covid- 19& her dying wish - that the baby she was fostering - be reunited with her birth family.

Allen is now caring for the baby ..

Hoping to fulfill that mission.

12:50 the goal is to get the baby back home- she has a mother who loves her desperately and she has siblings.

The happy ending here is to go back home and be with her family- we will miss her dearly but family courts across the country are closed& slowing down the process.

18:12 families are not being able to be reunited as quickly as they otherwise would have- so that's very stressful on everybody involved during 2017--- more than 440 thousand children were in foster care& with 56 percent of cases aiming to reunite the child with their family.

Children who left the system that year- spent an average of 14 months in foster care.

Alan mucatel--- ceo of new york city agency "risin ground" says it' taking longer now during the pandemic to reunite families.

He fears the coronavirus will take an even greater toll on some communities.

27:59 children in foster care are disproportionatel y children of color, from low income households and their families in general are being impacted by corona in a far more adverse way.

His organization is trying to keep families connected through virtual visits.

23:28 we've realized its better now to make the visits shorter in duration because of the attention span- but more frequent marjorie hopes to honor her sister by making another family whole.

4:25 elise: you're also carrying on her legacy marjorie: yes- absolutely elise: how does that make you feel?

Marjorie: it makes me feel wonderful- it gives me the courage to go on courage she hopes will be an inspiration to others.

Elise preston, cbs news, new york.

Tag mucatel tells cbs news in addition to more frequent, virtual calls--- families are participating in activities such as reading the same books, or going for walks at the same time-as a way to keep a connection during isolation for many local artists, the summer months offer a second stream of income.

Whether is festivals, fairs, or summer concerts, there always a way to make some extra cash.

But covid-19 has put a stop to all that.

Our cash matlock looks at what local artists are doing to get by.

Jimmy criddle is the senior pastor at first united methodist church in columbus.

When he's not at the church... he's working on his art.

Criddle says he's been selling his work since 2012... and had plans to attend three different art festivals this summer.

"one in oxford, th double decker festival, another on in nashville, the centennial art festival and the kentuck art festival, and all of those were canceled because of the pandemic."

According to criddle, the last few months haven't been easy.

"without festivals you have no way to share your art with the public, and right now those things aren't happening, so there is no doubt a lot of artist that have been struggling."

Criddle is one of many area artists who have turned to the columbus arts council for help.

"we are getting lot of calls from our artists.

They are really upset because their summer income is based on festivals."

It's not so much the gallery that everyone wants to be in... it's the council's store.

"we provide over 4 artists with ability to show their art and to sell their art here."

But getting people in the door isn't easy.

"with no on coming up, or less people coming in because they're afraid to be here, we are taking that to them.

So, we've worked really hard in our grant process to do some video production."

"we are looking a all avenues going virtual.

We have to."

Criddle says now is the time to go out and support your local artists.

"get on faceboo pages, look at what your local artist are doing, and if you can, support them.

Buy a piece.

Gift a piece to someone.

It makes a tremendous difference."

Me members of the arts council say operating a facility of this magnitude takes money.

For more information on store hours or how to donate, visit our website, wcbi dot com.

When we come back, how some communities are making sure families have good food to eat.

Mid morning will be right th the cbs series áa more perfect unioná aims to show that what unites us as americans is far greater than what divides us.

This morning, a grassroots effort to address the surging problem of áhunger.á research shows about one in six americans, or 54- ámillioná people, could experience food insecurity in the wake of the pandemic.

That includes 18- ámillioná children who may go hungry.

But there's a nationwide movement looking to feed those in need, one healthy bag of food at a time.

Wednesday mornings are a busy time at this warehouse in the brownsville neighborhood of brooklyn, new york.

Boxes of food are delivered by the pallet... watermelons, green peppers, tomatoes, potatoes& sorted... and bags filled to the brim are loaded back into trucks to be distributed throughout the city.

But this massive effort also supports a much humbler one... this is the friendly fridge... thank you so much.

This means a lot.

A sidewalk refrigerator stocked with free healthy food for anyone in need.

The quality of the food in here.

Like those are some serious egg plants.

That's important to us that people feel like they are getting quality food.

Alexis mena and his brother franklyn run universe city, an organization with a high-minded mission to create sustainable food systems designed by the community, employed by the community, for the benefit of the community.

In the last four months, we've been able to do // 400,000 pounds of food.

So that just // gives people fresh and organic food that they might not have always // have the opportunity to// purchase themselves.

// eggplant, kale, cumbers, squash, right they see the fridge as one more way they can reach their goal.

What the fridge allows is a way for people to connect on their terms and at their time.

Universe city and their food partners like city harvest now support a loosely linked network of fridges around new york city... free food fridges have been around for years.

But the pandemic created the circumstances for a grassroots movement.

It's a network of individuals that took an interest in supporting our community and in during the time where pantries were closing down, right?

// and when they shut down, it-- it left more and more people, especially those who recently went into unemployment, without the resources they need in order to // provide for their family.

In a time when, you know, millions of people are getting sick and millions of americans are out of work and are struggling to put food on the table, this is one way that you're doin' your part?

Absolutely.

You can now find community fridges, sometimes called freedges, all across the country.

Each with it's own personality... like this one in charlotte north carolina created by shamelle jackson.

The fridge at foco cafe in fort collins, colorado is filled with fresh produce from local farmers, restaurants, and gardens from around the community.

People are able to come by and grab a handful of carrots or whatever there might be in here and feed their families fresh locally sourced food these fridges are a lifeline for people like new yorker nick garcia who lost his job back in may.

These fridges are a lifeline for people like nick garcia in new york who lost his job back in may.

It's really helping me and i can only imagine how many others.

We want to make sure we're inclusive to vladimir duthiers, cbs good morning everyone you meet the goal is to file your children to raise awareness and raise money will raising awareness and he's going to talk to you you okay kid raising where you were still in the story you made your children will be to help the reader walk on nor the order in which will be the main unit in the year the area will filter a little note.

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