On the last day before my in-person workshop ended, I talked with the participants about their concerns for the COVID-19 quarantine. The mood was tense and hurried, as in most places in March of 2020, everyone was trying to prepare for the shelter in place orders. Some people doubted the concerns around contagion were warranted and others weren’t sure how long this could really last. When they tried to imagine what this strange period at home would look like, substance abuse quickly came up. While some would be working to bring in extra income for their families, they were concerned about the social isolation and boredom. Many had dealt with substance abuse issues in the past or were still dealing with them. The idea of being stuck at home, with little to do and down the street from dealers that knew them, seemed daunting. 

 

As one young man put it, “as long as I’m busy, it’s ok. But so much free time. . .”

 

I am doing my Master’s research with Reinserta Un Mexicano, a program for young people that are transitioning out of the criminal justice system in Mexico. The majority of the people in the program were arrested for serious crimes and have complex histories of trauma. Many dropped out of school at an early age or stopped studying when they were incarcerated. The program works to offer an all-inclusive place to meet these diverse needs. Because of this, the model is intensive: participants come to the center to attend voluntary programming Monday-Friday, 9-5 until they have a job or are enrolled in school that interferes with those hours. Then they continue in the program, but for less hours per week. 

 

Like many similar programs, the heart of this model is a shared space where participants can come to receive services like therapy and job training, and to engage with each other,  counselors and teachers. So when the stay-at-home order was put into place in Mexico, the program coordinators had to find a way to maintain contact with the participants, who live all across Mexico City’s sprawling urban area and who often do not have reliable internet in their homes. The coordinators called on the whole team and those of us that did workshops in the program to design activities that could be done at home, with strict limitations: materials they could find easily, readings under four pages, very short videos that wouldn’t use too much data to stream, etc. But we were all aware that there is only so much engagement that can happen from afar.
 

This concern has been echoed in many places around the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, and many people began to stay home, scholars predicted an increase in mental health crises and drug use. Stress is often linked to addictive behaviors, and social distancing requires removing oneself from peer support groups where help is readily available, like the one where I do research. Quarantine heightens all sorts of mental health stress: people are isolated, anxious about contagion, and depressed about an uncertain future. Add to this rampant job loss and an economic crisis, and it is no surprise that substance abuse has increased. In many places, alcohol sales have skyrocketed. Mexico City implemented a dry law, to limit alcohol intake in part because of rising rates of domestic violence during the quarantine. 

 

For young people, in particular those with tumultuous home lives, the prospect of online classes with limited teacher support for an uncertain amount of time, can heighten risk of mental health crises or turning to substance abuse in order to cope. The COVID crisis has heightened the already existing disparities in education, and teachers across the world are struggling to find ways to keep students engaged and in classes, but it is not hard to imagine why students who were already at risk of falling behind or dropping out would do so at this moment. The LA Unified School District has reported at the end of April that about 25% of students had not logged on even once to their online learning platform. 

 

Programs like Reinserta are trying to address all of these issues at once. They have been forced to adapt rapidly to the public health requirements while still addressing the complex needs of their program’s participants. One way they tried to offset the isolation was by making WhatsApp groups with each of the workshop leaders and the young people in their workshop. I have been surprised to see how many do send in assignments each week, and the way they joke around with each other over the chat. Especially for assignments that are more about their personal lives, they seem eager to share and engage with their peers. 

 

It will probably take years before we can fully understand the impacts of this pandemic. But for many who were in recovery processes, this can be a jarring halt to that process. Organizations like Reinserta should receive more support and resources to be able to respond, not only in the moment, but in the longer term. When we are finally ready to pick up the pieces of this crisis, we cannot allow people who were already marginalized to fall through the cracks.