From urban to rural, how different cultures within Northeast Indiana are responding to the pandemic

Northeast Indiana offers a blend of urban, suburban, and rural cultures. There is only a short distance between bustling downtown Fort Wayne and the many smaller towns and farms that surround the city. Each of these places has its own unique culture, and this has translated into how each community is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, too.

Kennedy Lomont is a senior at the University of Saint Francis and is a Fort Wayne resident. Although she has stayed home throughout most of the pandemic, she has still been able to observe the effects of COVID-19 on her community.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Lomont says many Fort Wayne people seemed to be wearing masks in public, but by mid-May, that changed. The majority of people she sees in stores now seem to have begun to forego wearing masks. Lomont mentions that a friend recently shared that around 80 percent of people in a local grocery store were not wearing masks.

Even so, she has still seen some positive experiences result from the pandemic.

“In my neighborhood, I have definitely noticed more people taking walks,” she says. “There are so many more dogs outside that I get to see, so it’s a plus for me.”

Lomont

She says that overall she has felt very safe in Fort Wayne throughout the pandemic. While it can be a scary time for many individuals, Lomont doesn’t see it that way.

“Really, there is no need for fear if you practice social distancing and have a good support network,” she says.

Residents in more rural communities within Northeast Indiana have experienced the pandemic play out differently over the course of the last few months.

Chelsea Archer, a senior at the University of Saint Francis, lives in Wabash about an hour and a half Southwest of Fort Wayne. Archer

Like most places across the globe, Wabash has faced challenges in dealing with this pandemic, too. However, Archer believes that her city has had additional obstacles than what she’s heard about from friends in bigger cities.

“It’s been difficult just because we are a smaller city, so for us to have to deal with something like this is different,” she explains.

Archer also has seen a different attitude regarding masks in Wabash than Lomont has in Fort Wayne, too. At the beginning of the pandemic, Wabash had few masks and protective equipment, Archer says.

“I think my city was delayed because (Fort Wayne) had all the protection—masks, gloves, everything—about two weeks before we did,” she says.

However, now, the tables have turned. She says that many people in Wabash have become very vigilant about wearing masks in public.

Archer has seen some positive outcomes in her community, too. She has particularly been appreciative of the random acts of kindness she has seen recently. Archer experienced one of these herself at a grocery store.

“There was a woman who offered to wipe my cart down before I walked in because I didn’t have any wipes, and I thought that was really sweet,” she says.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting communities within Northeast Indiana in different ways, perhaps one thing they have in common is that residents are working together to get through it.

As Lomont says, “Despite the trying times we are all going through, I believe that the shared connection all people have will pull us through.”