Is empowerment enough? Exploring lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 global pandemic was a crisis that disproportionately impacted marginalized communities. In one such community—Baltimore, Maryland—we sought to explore how individuals experienced, managed, and recovered from the pandemic. Through five focus groups with 16 participants, four themes emerged: demonstration of empowerment, hopelessness and powerlessness, mental health detriment, and misalignment of resources and needs. Although empowerment was demonstrated, we surprisingly found that participants also exhibited powerlessness and hopelessness, both of which can inhibit engagement in the empowerment process. Implications for FCS professionals, community educators, and policymakers are included.