This project was supported by the Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellowship and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.
Molly Oleson
Molly is a multimedia journalist, editor, photographer and illustrator. She has contributed to dozens of publications, and most recently, served as Editor of the Pacific Sun. To view more of her work, visit mollyoleson.com.
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Hélène Goupil
Hélène Goupil is a former editor at Mission Local who now works independently as a videographer and editor. She's the co-author of "San Francisco: The Unknown City" (Arsenal Pulp Press).
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Lydia Chávez
Founder/Executive Editor. I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019 when I retired. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still there.
As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.
Right now I'm trying to figure out how you make that long-held interest in local news sustainable. The answer continues to elude me.
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Thank you for this moving story thru both meaningful audio interviews and sensitive, engaging illustrations. The concept of space; who has it and who doesn’t in the US is another example of both privilege and inequity. The story, from both parent and child perspectives touched my heart very deeply and I am appreciative of your collective efforts with both narrative and art to create a very important message.
The story and pictures of the little girl is so compelling. I love the contrast of her joyful ride down the hill at home, and the forlorn sadness of the apartment here in the US. I never thought about the view of other kids houses that come across on Zoom – that picture really captures what she sees, and has to process in comparison to her own cramped and stressful situation.
I also love the way the artist grabbed the quote “if life is a game” in the guidance counselor piece, and used it as a visual metaphor for the whole story. I guess that is the essence of art, to create an image to share meaning. You did it very successfully here.
So beautifully done. THanks for remembering the kids and the moms. THanks for this graceful and simply eloquent work.
Amazing story and illustrations, let us never forget that the Children are suffering through the effects of this horrible Pandemic in many more ways than we can imagine, and many will need extra nurturing and care in years to come. As a World, as a Nation, as a Village, we must all be ready and willing to provide it.