Body Politic, a health justice organization that has led Long COVID organizing over the last three years, shut down its Slack support group this week. The group has been a valuable place for long-haulers to connect and find resources; it’s also helped launch other important projects, such as the Patient-Led Research Collaborative and the Long COVID Survival Guide.
The organization isn’t ending its support of long-haulers, though: it’s partnered with New Health, a mobile app developed to continue community Long COVID support. “New Health will be hiring Body Politic moderators and board members as their first paid staff, and members of our community are currently testing their app,” Body Politic leaders wrote in an April blog post describing the transition.
I’ve written previously about Body Politic’s fundraising efforts as the group sought to transition form a grassroots, all-volunteer organization to a format that was more sustainable, and I’m glad to see that the group’s leaders have found this solution. But it’s a bit sad to see the original Slack group close—the end of an era.
Thank you to all the volunteers who made the Body Politic group possible, from a journalist who has relied on many of its members and resources in my reporting on Long COVID!