I did a 3-month internship stint at Beyond Social Services (“Beyond”), a local charity dedicated to helping children and youths from less privileged backgrounds break away from the poverty cycle. During my internship, I assisted with a research project studying the impact of COVID-19 on Beyond’s members, who were from lower-income households. I was also attached to one of the community work teams.
The bulk of my internship involved speaking with Beyond’s members to find out how they were doing in light of heightened restrictions during COVID-19, whether there were any forms of support (including financial assistance) that we could provide or connect them to, and getting qualitative data for research. Because of tightened restrictions during COVID-19, most of my internship work was done remotely. Regardless, I managed to have insightful conversations with Beyond’s members which opened my eyes to see how COVID-19 impacted lower-income households in varied ways – especially in terms of their employment and income levels, their children’s schooling and education, relationships at home, and their mental health. In many ways, COVID-19 exacerbated existing vulnerabilities faced by these households.
My supervisors at Beyond’s internship and community work team were very collaborative and gave me ample room to contribute and grow through my work. For example, I was involved in research design, field work and some data analysis. I also got to see how Beyond’s community workers worked hard to build relationships with their members, and how the trust built was crucial in being able to provide meaningful support to their members.
As a MPP candidate, these experiences helped me gain more understanding into the support – including policy measures – on the ground, and how they played out in the lives of individual households.