Stronger Together: Resources & Awareness for Road Life Community During COVID-19
Vanlifers and nomads like Abbi Hearne and Megan Kantor, pictured above at a Thanksgiving celebration, are giving up social gathering for social distance and stepping up to redefine what community means during hard times.
Dear vanlifers and fellow nomads,
Things seem crazy right now. We, at Vanlife Diaries, are sure you're handling it as best as possible. There are so many unknowns, and some of you may have already found a nice, safe spot to stay. We hope you are staying healthy and taking care of yourself physically, mentally and logistically.
We’d like to offer some advice and ways we can all be helpful during this time.
WHO is recommending ceasing travel and finding a place to stay with friends, family, or good samaritans.
Right now is a time to slow down and stop the wheels from rolling. As we have the ability to travel, we also have the ability to be silent carriers bringing COVID-19 to new communities. Going to some of our favorite spots runs a greater risk of spreading the virus, but also (and potentially worse), it could mean overwhelming the small hospitals, healthcare systems, and grocery stores of smaller communities of the beautiful desert, mountain, and coastal towns which we are grateful to travel through and be in. For example, Moab, Utah has 17 hospital beds and three ventilators, yet saw more than 1,500 visitors per day at Arches National Park before Moab shut down. Many small towns like Aspen, CO and Truckee, CA are experiencing similar influxes of visitors despite the warnings to not pass through. This means we should hit the brakes on travel for pleasure and instead find a safe place to be and stay for awhile.
We know this can be difficult for those of us who are full-time travelers. There is a daunting question of "Where do we go?" This is 90% of the reason why we chose to write this article.
Full-time Airstreamers Nate and Megan Kantor were working in Moab when the BLM shut down, and all campers, travelers, and tourists were told to go home. They knew many would be displaced. So they, along with Abbi Hearne (who is providing a lot of information on her Instagram on ways to stay safe and be helpful), have set up a spreadsheet where people can list their place/driveway/land/Airbnb (as well as amenities such as power, showers and WiFi) for those who need a place to stay. You can use this spreadsheet to list your home or find contact information.
The idea for this spreadsheet came after Abbi talked with a friend who works for the World Health Organization (WHO). That friend recommended a resource for road lifers to find someone (friend, family, kind stranger) who could take them in.
"Now is the time to be welcoming to those who need help while we can. The next 10-30 days are going to get bad. Help your friends and set them up for success now, even if it's just a driveway and letting them use your restroom and WiFi. We shouldn't be panicked to the point of not helping those in need."
Another thing we want to recommend is making sure you are getting your advice and information from credible sources. We are all for holistic health, natural remedies, and positivity, but we’ve seen an alarming amount of misinformation circulating. Right now, the only "natural remedy" for coronavirus (aka COVID-19) is social distancing. Having a strong immune system doesn't make you immune from getting, carrying, or transmitting the virus. We encourage you to not participate in creating or sharing false information which could lead to people taking unnecessary risk. We recommend checking fact checking reports and avoiding posts that suggest western medicine will reduce your risk of becoming infected. We also advise listening to medical professionals for their recommendations.
Megan and Nate are small business owners who have put their income secondary to public health and have returned to their family’s driveway in Colorado. Now they’re helping others find safe places to stay as well.
A vaccine is in the works that has—in an unprecedented move—gone straight to human testing. However, the patient still has to be monitored for 12 months to check for side effects and it might be another six months before it is produced and distributed.
As of March 21, 2020 we are looking at a 18-month timeline as a best-case scenario for a vaccine. This means that our lives will likely be affected during this time and as we ease up on precautions, a COVID-19 burst may overwhelm communities and hospitals. Measures are being taken to be better equipped in the meantime. The best thing we can, should, and need to be doing as a part of humanity is to ease the burden on those who are more susceptible to dying from COVID-19. Let’s help our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends and strangers who are the doctors, nurses, grocery store workers, and helpers on the frontlines during these intense times.
Lastly, many of us live close to or in nature and are not feeling the intensity as much as those who live in lower-economic communities, urban areas or are under lockdown. We should be conscious of this in how we share information—trying not to make light of the epedemic or flaunting our ability and freedom as many others are not going through the same experience. Laughter is a way to make it through the hard times, and we appreciate the memes as much as anyone else. However, some are experiencing mental health challenges as they are not able to leave their homes. Rather than only showing our freedom, we can use our social network to remind people of the beauty—share where you are staying, share the challenges, and offer support. Use this time to create, encourage, and remind people that there is light at the end of this tunnel. Call your friends who are stuck inside, send letters and texts, and share excitement about future adventures.
Thank you and we love you. Even from a distance, we hope our community uses this time to come together even more. When we meet up again, it will be that much sweeter knowing we did our best to have each other's backs during a time of need and adversity.
Big love,
Travis Wild
Vanlife Diaries