Several digital gathering spaces are helping marginalized groups make connections as the pandemic wears on. Some of their founders say they've seen a clear need for the support such online platforms can provide, and plan to continue offering the virtual services as society reopens.
TORONTO -- When much of society was under lockdown earlier this year and prolonged periods of solitude began to take a toll, Ghassan Miqdadi would log onto the website Yalla! Let's Talk to connect with fellow Arabs in Canada and abroad.
"I'd go into virtual cafes, and it was always such a welcoming experience - I felt heard and seen ...We needed an inclusive, digital space that welcomed all kinds of Arabs." In May, when the conflict in Gaza escalated, the site started offering weekly "virtual healing circles" to help users work through their thoughts around what was happening.
Allison Hill, the founder of Restore - a Black-focused online wellness platform - said she also saw a clear need for a welcoming digital space for marginalized communities emerge during the pandemic. "It's really about us coming together and sharing the different experiences that we're having as Black people and using those resources to share and solve our problems within our own community as best as we can," she said.
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