Home, the Vulnerable and the Pandemic

Abstract

The extraordinary times during the pandemic turn the lives of vulnerable members at home—the children, older people, the disabled, those from disjointed families, all upside down as schools, offices and businesses close, health systems collapse, borders restricts movements, pressure on curtailing outside contacts builds up, social interactions break down and social economic crisis rises. All the categories of people in the households are affected by the pandemic but the most vulnerable are disproportionately affected. They need support, attention and mechanisms to improve their quality of life and above all focus on how to adjust to the pandemic as well as protect themselves against abuse, which is on the rise and keep physical distance from caregivers without whom it may be difficult to cope. The impact on their overall health based on socioeconomic societal forces in the broad sense of affecting their lives is tremendous. Life around them has changed so suddenly and dramatically, that issues of why children and older people cannot go out, why they cannot attend educational institutions and participate in social activities, why disable who may need constant care and companionship cannot be provided with this, why single parent is hassled with day-to-day management of the house and family cannot be provided relief—are all concerns requiring immediate attention and remedies to have a ‘normal’ life. The lockdown situation creates unusual circumstances which make things difficult and challenging for the vulnerable for whom the societal response to ‘normalize’ things is limited. The chapter reflects on how to avoid creating a sense of doom that undermines the vulnerable individual’s motivations for normalizing life. What kind of connotation the question of quality time with family means becomes significant as relationships undergo change both inside and outside the home. Is the change for betterment or is it buckling up as isolation becomes the norm to safeguard the vulnerable whose experience of a different reality is pivotal and pertinent to supporting them and building family relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. The shared experience of the different groups of the vulnerable is the essence of the chapter as the ‘new normal’ prevails until the virus is under control.