Essential Voices with Wilmer Valderrama

Lifelines

Please note this episode deals with discussions of sexual and domestic violence. Solange Ramkissoon has worked as part of a sexual assault response team and answers the phone when someone calls into their hotline. Throughout the pandemic when the instructions were to stay at home to stay safe from Covid, home was often the least safe place to be for those at risk of assault within the home. Throughout the pandemic when intimate partner violence increased with lockdowns, Solange and her team were answering phones and were 24/7 lifelines to support survivors. Roundtable guests: actress and advocate Gabrielle Union and expert on gender-based violence prevention and response, Lina AbiRafeh. Learn more about SAVE of Essex County: <a href="https://www.familyserviceleague.org/save-of-essex#:~:text=SAVE%20of%20Essex%20County%20operates,%2C%20friends%2C%20and%20significant%20others">https://www.familyserviceleague.org/save-of-essex#:~:text=SAVE%20of%20Essex%20County%20operates,%2C%20friends%2C%20and%20significant%20others</a>. Episode Transcript: <a href="https://app.trint.com/public/d61089fc-001c-4bd4-9327-c199d03f79d4">https://app.trint.com/public/d61089fc-001c-4bd4-9327-c199d03f79d4</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The Covid-19 pandemic introduced the term “Essential Workers” for a class of people who existed before and will persist long after the virus is gone. Vital to society, but rarely heard from, this “essential” class is often hit hardest by the imbalances and injustices of our culture. In each episode, host Wilmer Valderrama will have intimate conversations with people on the frontlines of the food system, transportation, child-care and other workers who are so often overlooked. That conversation leads to a round-table discussion with activists and politically-active celebrities, discussing themes, issues and areas of needed change. The show seeks to reveal the invisible connections between all of us.