About This Item


  • Call NumberOSOS_OH_0107
  • Summary(1:40) Crown Heights native, 25 years old. Domestic Violence coordinator for RISE: program within Center for Court Innovation -- (2:30) Domestic violence increase during pandemic. Homebound people unable to use online resources due to fear of partner -- (4:00) Social media -- (5:40) Attempts to reach victims of domestic violence without putting them at risk -- (6:25) Pre-pandemic work: workshops for men, youth, office hours, bringing resources to clients, canvassing -- (10:03) Work busier now. RISE distributes personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthier neighborhoods -- (13:20) Virtual cooking classes -- (14:44) Crown Heights mutual aid group, community fridge -- (16:32) Graduation car parade: honking, signs -- (17:54) Worry about community and business reopening (18:18) Nostrand Avenue: mixture of black Caribbean residents and gentrifying newcomers -- (19:12) Sense of unreality -- (19:57) Virtual gender reveal party on Zoom -- (20:59) Desire to foster positivity.
  • Date2020-05-14
  • Physical Description1 sound file (22 min) : digital, WAV
  • CreatorBetances, Karolin
  • CollectionBrooklyn Covid-19 Stories
  • Cite AsBrooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History
  • Digital Public Library of AmericaThis item is represented in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).
  • Formatsound recording-nonmusical
  • Genreinterviews
  • NoteAudio interview conducted on May 14, 2020, by Julia DeAngelo. Collected for the Covid-19 Oral History Project through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
  • SubjectQuarantine ; COVID-19 (Disease) ; Epidemics ; Coronaviruses ; Family violence ; Fraternal organizations
  • PlaceCrown Heights (New York, N.Y.)
  • RightsThis work is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Users are free to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes as long as appropriate credit is given to the source and new material created with this work is shared under the same conditions.
  • TitleOral history interview with Karolin Betances on 2020 May 14.