3. Up, Down, Stop, Go, and Everything In Between

Abstract

Located in Rochester, New York, USA, Common Ground Health advocates for safe and accessible play for all children. Since 2015, residents have led a grassroots campaign convening neighbourhood associations, block clubs, churches, community organizations, and nonprofits to build and advance an equitable play-based agenda. Covid-19 amplified the importance of play as families navigated the ill effects of having children abruptly cut off from peers and social networks. Early in the pandemic, Common Ground worked to ensure that children had access to unstructured play. Together, we assembled and distributed play kits, partnered with the city to support Covid-friendly programming and infrastructure that prioritizes unstructured resident-driven play (e.g. toy libraries, bringing recreational programming and staff to non-traditional spaces, and play streets), and coordinated community resources to share with families during the pandemic. We distributed a total of 6500 play kits tailored for outdoor play at thirty-two different locations within Rochester. Resident leaders worked alongside hundreds of students and families in the Rochester City School District to better understand how the pandemic has impacted playful learning and together created a vision for playful learning as a means of mitigating the negative effects that Covid-19 has had on students. Common Ground catalyzed residents across the city to re-conceptualize traditional notions of play while continuing to advocate for safe and accessible play for all. Covid-19 elevated the importance of this work as residents advocate for play as a mechanism to facilitate healing and promote resilience in children during a time of chronic uncertainty.