(gentle music) - We're just gonna be gone out of school for a month, but then two months.

Then it' not two months.

It's like the rest of the year.

And then forever, it feels like.

- [Sonia] It's been a long haul for all of us.

- [woman] I just never could get better.

- My mom lost her job.

I had to take on an extra role of like two jobs at once while handling school.

- [Sonia] COVID-19 brought illness, heartache, and grief to Colorado.

- [Briana] She was a strong woman, my mother.

She never gave up.

- [Woman] That's when my doctor told me, get on the phone and FaceTime your family.

- [Sonia] Now we look to the road ahead.

- That man helped me and took time out of his life for me.

Thank you again, God bless you.

- [Sonia] Voices of the pandemic in Colorado.

- [JayJay] Hoo, that was the hardest day of my life.

Having to say goodbye.

- Good evening, welcome to "The Long Haul."

I am Sonia Gutierrez.

Over the past 15 months Rocky Mountain PBS crews have traveled all over Colorado, telling individual stories of the long-term impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the people of our state.

Tonight, we'll share some of those stories with you.

One of the long-term impacts all across the state is shared loss.

We have lost more than 6,500 people to COVID-19 in Colorado, and close to 600,000 across the country.

So many people are grieving.

In Colorado Springs the Porcadilla family opened their doors to us.

They wanted everyone to know about a mother who left them way too soon.

(somber music) - [Narrator] By now almost all of us have lost someone that we've loved during this pandemic.

A friend, a parent, a wife, a neighbor, Christina Porcadilla was all of those things and so much more.

- [Ryan] I like peanut butter and jelly, so she was probably the jelly to my world.

- [Briana] She was a great wife.

She was a beautiful friend.

- [JayJay] My mom was my bestest friend in the whole entire world.

- [Briana] My mom, she was a fighter throughout everything.

And the doctors had told her that she had a disease called multiple sclerosis.

She couldn't walk, she couldn't move.

- [JayJay] She was like, I'm going to relearn how to talk, to walk, to eat, to drink.

And she did it.

- [Narrator] So when the entire Porcadilla household got COVID in late November they dug in as a family and prepared for another fight.

- [JayJay] We were very nervous that my mom was gonna take it the hardest.

On the 16th of December it just turned for the worst.

And then all of a sudden she said, "I can't breathe."

- [Narrator] Christina battled COVID-19 for months, in and out of the hospital, through birthdays and holidays.

- [JayJay] On Valentine's Day, I remember it so vividly because, I still have my jacket that I wore, and I have the little sticker.

I had to switch shifts at work so that I could go and see her that night on Valentine's Day.

And I'm so thankful I did, because who knows what would've happened if I didn't get to see my mom that day.

- [Narrator] The next day Christina's condition took a turn for the worse.

- [JayJay] The doctor finally comes out, and we see him peep that corner, and he's not wearing his doctor's coat.

And that's when I knew.

That's when I knew.

- [Ryan] I think I was shocked.

- [JayJay] And so I remember asking the doctor, I said, "Just please just start from the beginning again."

Oh, that was the hardest day of my life.

Having to say goodbye.

- I know it's gonna haunt me forever in my life.

I don't think I will get over this.

- [Narrator] Christina Ferreira Porcadilla was just 43 years old.

This story isn't just about another Coloradan losing their fight with COVID.

This story is also about the continued struggles we tend to keep to ourselves.

The other battles we don't talk about.

- [JayJay] I never once thought in my life that I would be writing my mom's obituary, when she was just here.

Like she was just here.

- [Narrator] And now as time has marched on, each member of this family has their own quiet struggle.

Like so many who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, they each wonder could this have all been prevented?

Father Jamie not only lost his partner in life.

He lost his job as Christina's caregiver when she died.

Daughter, Briana, lived in Texas when her mom died, and didn't make it home in time to say goodbye.

16-year-old son Ryan has had to worry about his grades in school while grieving.

And they're all grieving together in a house that just doesn't feel like home without Christina.

- [Briana] She's, I think home kind of left with her a little bit, when she passed.

It's kind of just a house with us in it right now.

- [Ryan] Since she's been gone there's been more silence than there should be.

- [JayJay] It's just different.

I make it a point to go visit my mom as much as I can.

I like being there with her.

It makes me feel closer to her for some odd reason.

When we're here, she's here with us, too.

It's hard.

but we make strides every day, and I think that's what my mom would want, is for us to be strong and to keep going and to have strength like she did.

- [Narrator] The fight never stops for the ones left behind.

- [JayJay] Just rest, just rest in peace.

(somber music) - Another major impact of the pandemic has been a deepening mental health crisis in Colorado.

Children's Hospital Colorado recently said it has become a state of emergency.

And for many weeks this year the most common reason kids and teens are coming to their hospitals is for suicide attempt.

We met one student who shared their very personal story with lawmakers, hoping for change.

- I'm expecting we're just gonna be gone out of school for a month.

But then you find out that like, oh, it's not a month.

It's like two months.

That is not two months, it's like the rest of the year.

And then it's like forever, it feels like.

- [Sonia] Remote school felt like it would never end for Aku Unvu, a soon to be graduate in Aurora at APS Avenues.

- At the time I was taking both college courses and my high school courses, so I had to learn how to balance both of them.

It was constant work.

On top of the pandemic, trying to be a responsible member of my family because I'm the eldest.

So I gotta pick up a lot of the slack because my parents aren't working.

And then everything that happened over the summer with the George Floyd stuff, it's just like, it was an added stress.

(crowd chanting) It made me feel very unsafe and uncomfortable.

(crowd chanting) After it happened I really did not want to go outside.

I told myself if I can just make it to 18 without being a hashtag, I'm good.

I've made it.

All of that in combination added to the stress and the detriment of my mental health.

So it led to the suicidal thoughts and just me being in a really unhealthy place mentally.

When you feel yourself, that you're gonna fall off the edge, it's time for you to go and ask someone for help.

So that's what I did.

- When she did sort of reach that point where she wanted support or when she reached that breakdown point, she felt comfortable at that point to share that.

And from there we could intervene.

- And I think we all knew that something was up because there was a change in her sort of overall affect and that sort of thing.

And so it was noticeable to us, because we had built a relationship, luckily, with her.

- [Sonia] David Brysh and Julie White are school mental health professionals.

They noticed as the pandemic unfolded, something was off with a lot of students, not just Aku.

- This last year and a half has been horrendous for everyone.

So we have a lot of students whose parents may have been unemployed or whose parents may be frontline workers.

And I think we already knew a lot of them well enough to know, so-and-so's not responding, we're gonna go and do a, it's not a home visit right now, it's like a yard visit (laughing).

- We were trying to do some things to reach out to students, too.

We would take them goodie bags.

If they were doing well, we would take them, what did we call the bags?

- We miss you bags.

- We miss you bags for 'em?

- [Julie] We hadn't seen 'em in a while.

- We hadn't seen 'em for a while, 'cause, yeah, we just have some students that, their method of handling things is withdrawal.

- [Aku] Good afternoon Representative Michaelson Jenet and the members of the Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services Committee.

- [Sonia] The pandemic has taken such a toll on mental health for so many people.

So the state is pouring hundreds of millions of federal pandemic rescue funds into behavioral health resources.

And Aku decided to lend her voice to support one measure aimed at helping young people.

- My name is Aku Unvu, and I am 18 years old, and I attend...

Teens like me, especially in this day and age, we just need help.

And we need somebody to talk to.

- [Sonia] Aku testified at the State Capitol in favor of legislation to provide a free mental health screening for every school-aged child in Colorado, and up to three free visits with a mental health professional for the kids who really need it.

- Three sessions I feel is pretty good.

There's a lot you can get done in three sessions.

I got a lot done in three sessions.

I learned a lot.

Yeah.

I feel a lot better.

I feel like I'm in a really good space.

And I know that once I leave, I've learned all of the coping mechanisms that I need.

- [Sonia] Aku knows she's lucky.

She had trusted mental health professionals right in her school she could turn to in her time of crisis.

- I can call Julie or I can call Brysh.

If I need a recommendation on something, I can call them.

These are people that you want in your life long term.

- [Sonia] And she wants other young people in Colorado to have that, too.

- If we have more kids that are talking to people we won't have school shootings, we won't have suicides.

Like those things would be at an all-time low if we were able to have these services available to all the youth.

I hope my statement today urges you to think about how important this bill is to us.

- The state's many plans to address the pandemic mental health crisis in Colorado are still evolving.

We're posting updates on planned programs and new laws on our website, rmpbs.org.

("Pomp and Circumstance") (crowd cheering) - Two of the strangest school years are finally coming to an end for seniors all around the state.

At ceremonies like this one behind me, we talked to graduates about the long lasting impact COVID-19 has had on their lives.

("The Star Spangled Banner") - You are the embodiment of perseverance and commitment in the face of the most unprecedented times in our nation.

- It was really hard to not have a senior year.

- So many of you supported your younger brothers and sisters with online learning while also doing your own online learning.

- [Narrator] Clear signs of the ongoing pandemic remain.

- For starters, I hate wearing masks (chuckling).

- [Narrator] So does the emotional toll.

- During the pandemic my mom lost her job.

My parents are divorced.

My mom lost her job.

So I had to take on a extra role of like two jobs at once while handling school and helping with my siblings.

So it was just a lot on my plate, and I fell back on school without even knowing that I was doing it.

And I dunno, it just attacked my personal mental health because I felt so low on myself when I could have done way much better.

- COVID definitely had an impact, I would say, last year, especially.

I was kinda worried that I was gonna make it.

I got a C. It was like my second C ever in my life.

- [Narrator] Graduates credit teachers, family, and friends for getting them this far.

- They would say to me every morning, "You're almost there.

"Dude, you got this.

"Just keep going."

- It was obviously a struggle not being in school.

I kinda fell behind.

(crowd clapping) Thank you for the support and always being here through my struggles, still having a helping hand, even though we're all trying to adjust with the COVID thing.

(crowd cheering) - We think about what Daddy Bruce Randolph did for his community, right?

He was all about giving back.

We are really looking to what we can do as a school to give back more.

- [Narrator] That focus on community brought peace of mind earlier this year, as in-person learning returned.

It started in an 11th grade science class.

- [Student] PPM 411.

- [Student] We're learning about how we can prevent COVID.

- Our kids were scared and their families were scared because everyone was.

Part of the way to counter that fear is just to think about what do we know?

What do we not know?

And where does our power lie?

- [Student] I'm trying to keep every, my family, my friends, the staff here safe.

- We really focused on learning along with scientists as they figured things out.

That was where we shifted into air quality, because being indoors, air quality plays a huge role in it and in preventing transmission.

Virus particles can enter the air through speaking, laughing, singing, coughing, things like that.

And that's also how carbon dioxide gets into the air, because we exhale carbon dioxide.

The monitors are measuring carbon dioxide levels.

When that level is above about 800 that indicates that you aren't getting a lot of air changes.

- [Student] We can better equip ourselves with like opening windows or AC vents to filter out whatever like nasty stuff is in the air, and just create a healthy environment for everyone.

The CO2 right here.

- [Teacher] What else do we have in our power that isn't gonna cost the school a million dollars and also can quickly contribute to safety?

- [Student] Just opening a door can change so much about how the CO2 levels decreased.

- [Teacher] You are hearing a strong airflow throughout our building.

What we found is that our building is phenomenal.

- [Student] It made it more reassuring for me to come back to class.

- We know that COVID's not going to go away.

And so what can we be doing as a district and individual schools so that everyone has the luxury of feeling as safe as possible when we're here.

(crowd chattering) - [Nurse] All right, you're all set.

Hang on one second.

- Okay.

- [Sonia] You can see the relief on Cindy Schultz's face.

We were there as she got her first vaccine dose in March after surviving COVID-19, not once, but twice.

- [Man] How are you feeling?

- [Cindy] Pretty emotional, but very excited.

- Cindy is one of several people we've met who have suffered longterm health implications from COVID-19.

For so many people beating the virus was only the beginning of a long road to recovery, like Christina Morales Gomez of Pueblo, who became sick while pregnant and delivered her little girl early.

- Hi baby girl.

Hi Athaliah.

She was born January 26th, 11:39 am.

Cervical.

Hi.

She was the only person I had when I was sick in the hospital alone.

I did talk to her, obviously.

I could just talk, no response back except maybe some kicks.

She weighed four pounds, eight ounces, believe it or not.

COVID has affected my life dramatically.

I woke up that Wednesday and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I felt like something was on my chest.

I couldn't catch my breath.

I went to the ER immediately and they kind of quarantined me, they put me in a little room.

They took me back, they did the test.

About two hours later it came back positive and they immediately sent me up to the labor and delivery, 'cause they wanted to monitor me and obviously I wasn't breathing right.

I needed oxygen and I was shaking profusely.

Like I couldn't and it was a fever.

My fever was like almost 103 almost 104.

Every night I would get it but my body was not stop shaking.

I felt like a guinea pig, because nobody knew how to treat me.

'Cause again, I'm pregnant and with COVID so bad.

They seen positive COVID in women but nothing like me.

I didn't think I was gonna even live, honestly.

When my doctor told me, get on the phone and FaceTime your family and right there it put fear into me because she like her face, you could just see her face, like the fear for me.

And when she said that like, or, am I gonna tell them my last words, or is that gonna be the last time I talked to them?

I did go into premature labor because of it, 'cause I had no complications prior to me getting sick.

I was perfectly fine.

Perfectly fine.

I just could never could get better.

Hi love.

(baby gurgling) Original due date is March 14th but she was born on January 26th.

Sometimes she'll have really good days and sometimes she won't.

Her oxygen's been swinging lately.

(baby wheezing) Her breathing is where she's struggling a little now.

She's at 79, 78.

(monitor beeping) That see, this is what happens.

Those are those.

They're not very long.

I know if they're more than 15 seconds then they stimulate her.

She's the only person that knows that exactly what I went through.

Pregnant, COVID, not knowing what to do.

I had a hospitalist.

They pulmonologist come see me.

And they're like, well, we're afraid of pregnant women because they don't know what to do.

At that time they just monitored me.

They didn't really have any really answers because it's so new and they really didn't have anybody like me pregnant and with severe symptoms.

She's like my little best friend.

It does make me really sad and depressed.

COVID's caused all of that.

- Baby Athaliah was able to go home from the hospital in March, after spending 60 days in the NICU.

The CDC is now says pregnant people can receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

And, the vaccine can protect you from getting a severe illness from COVID.

On a personal note, I am pregnant myself and seeing Christina's story was a big reason why I decided to get the vaccine.

I've had both doses and feel so relieved.

It's like I gave my child their first gift.

The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic have been especially challenging for women and mothers.

In Durango, we met three mothers who are all immigrants and who all struggled against the disproportionate effects of Corona Virus on their community.

(birds chirping) - [Narrator] They are the challenges that have sadly become familiar because of COVID-19, severe illness, lost work, fear about making ends meet and schools shutting down.

Yet these mothers felt they were living through these challenges in the shadows because of their immigration status.

Take Daisy, for example.

Single mother of four, Daisy worked at a Durango Bakery that shut down for months.

Because she's undocumented, she couldn't collect unemployment or stimulus benefits and couldn't pay her internet bill.

That left her youngest child, first grader, Alex, unable to log on to online classes for weeks.

Then her child's school Park Elementary sent Daisy a text, saying they'd report her to Child Protective Services if her son didn't log on.

(speaking in a foreign language) - Educational neglect, yeah.

- [Narrator] Marie Voss-Patterson is the Principal at Park Elementary.

- I mean we tried letters, attendance letters truancy letters.

We've had an SRO making sure everyone was okay.

Security Resource Officer.

And so sometimes we have to say, hey, we really want your kid to school.

- [Narrator] She says the school had remote labs, provided children with Chromebooks and hotspots.

But for parents like Daisy who grew up in a different country and are still learning English, virtual classes were close to impossible.

Still, after the text threat, Daisy found a way to make sure her son logged on and the school didn't report her to Human Services.

When we first published Daisy's story in March, the principal apologized to Daisy's family and the broader Latinex community, "for the harm we caused".

The principal also announced plans to bring in bilingual liaisons to improve the school's communication with parents.

While Daisy struggled with her child's school.

Another Durango mom Ana, fought against the consequences of the virus.

Ana, her husband, her son and two of her grandchildren all got sick with COVID-19.

The couple had to get hospitalized and ended up with more than $180,000 in medical debt weighing heavily on Ana's husband (speaking in a foreign language) - [Narrator] We were able to connect Centura Health's financial officers with Ana's family.

They got their bills down from 180,000 to closer to 30,000, according to the family.

Ana's case reflects the unequal impact of COVID-19 in our nation, where minorities like her are contracting and dying from COVID-19 at much higher rates.

Viola knows that fact all too well.

Viola and her family escaped violence in Columbia and arrived in Durango right around the time the pandemic reached Colorado.

They found connections in the tight knit immigrant community but then they also found themselves exposed to COVID-19 again and again.

Viola and her family have been tested five times.

Thankfully they've all been negative but each time the family thinks twice about going in for tests.

(speaking in a foreign language) Viola says she knows if anyone in the family test positive even if they don't get sick, it could mean 14 days of quarantine.

No work, no sick leave and no paycheck.

According to the CDC, compared to White Americans Latinos are two times more likely to get COVID, three times more likely to get hospitalized for it and two times more likely to die from it.

The risks are real.

The fear is valid.

Now the vaccines have arrived.

All three of these mothers are hoping for a more stable future.

Hoping that going forward, their community won't have to shoulder so much of the heartache of this crisis.

- This season of life has been so isolating for so many people and that isolation could have meant disaster for Fred Wilson.

He left prison after 26 years, right in the middle of the pandemic.

But advocates stepped in to make sure Fred didn't have to go through it alone.

- When you feel like you did something, when you have nothing and somebody looking at you in a positive note, man it makes you feel so good.

It feels so special and it makes you do better in life.

My name's Fred Wilson and I've had quite the journey but I made it to freedom.

I served time in Colorado.

I did 26 years.

I broke a lot of hearts and I broke mine the most.

There was shame and guilt.

As I did my time, I became a good person, and maybe a great person down the end.

- My name is Jill Addai, I am a Master's Level Social Worker for a Lutheran Family Services Crisis Counseling Program.

One thing we decided was to really focus on the homeless population and that's how we were able to connect with Ronnie at St. Francis Center.

- Well, my name is Ronnie Anika.

I'm the Director of the Employment Program.

This side is where we have our intern.

St. Francis, it's a refuge for women and men who are homeless in the Denver Metro area.

People donate this clothes to us.

And then we also have the category of those that are transitioning to the justice system.

- [Fred] We got on the bus and I was scared 'cause I was just getting out and I didn't know how to use the bus.

- When Fred came out of prison, he was in such a place that he very, very scared.

He was from another world into another world and everything was very fast.

He was like, I hope I can handle this.

- I got a bike in the bus.

Ronnie helped me to get a job and so that was good.

And he cared about me, so it gave me hope, encouraging.

And I went out there and I got the snow removal job.

This is my phone that Ronnie gave me.

- [Ronnie] We also tried to get him a phone because that has one of the things he required.

- [Fred] I live by myself.

- COVID on top of reintegrating into society.

I can understand like just how overwhelmed he was feeling.

The Colorado Spirit Wellness Program is a grant founded through FEMA.

We provide one-on-one listening sessions.

We provide group support.

We provide drop-in sessions and even in-person support, when feasible.

And in providing a warm handoff, I'm not just saying call this number.

I'm actually the one calling those services for him.

(touchscreen beeping) That extra support may have kept Mr. Wilson from going back into the justice system.

- He went for the first meeting and when he came back, he was totally a changed person.

- There we go.

I'm drug free.

I'm alcohol free.

I don't smoke.

I serve Jesus.

I got two jobs.

I feel good.

I feel blessed.

I don't feel like a prisoner.

I feel like a freedom man a law abiding citizen, thank you.

(Fred grunting) - [Jill] Bye-bye.

- [Fred] Thank you again.

God bless you.

- During this long recovery from the pandemic we all have our own stories to tell.

Our coverage of "The Long Haul" will continue.

And you can share your own story with us on our Rocky Mountain PBS website, rmpbs.org.

And you can find full versions of all of the stories you've seen tonight and a lot more on our website.

Again, that's rmpbs.org.

Thank you so much for joining us.

We'll see you next time.

(gentle upbeat music)