Youth Speaker Series Helps Cut COVID-19 Loneliness

WINDSOR TERRACE — Joseph Baah, 17, became uneasy last spring when the isolation of the COVID-19 quarantine took hold.

He missed his classmates and friends from church. His mind wandered, but his thoughts did not bring peace.

“The quarantine gave me more time to reflect,” Baah said. “What I figured out was I didn’t have a sense of identity. I didn’t realize that until everything just slowed down.

“Then, I realized that I felt lost.”

Baah was not alone in how he felt, said Elaine Tontoh, youth ministry director at St. Therese of Lisieux Roman Catholic Church, Flatbush.

“When the pandemic started, we immediately switched to having online meetings,” Tontoh said. “But the feedback we got from the youth was that they were feeling lonely, bored with nothing to do.” More…..