Interview with Erin Haggan
InterviewerInterviewed by
Peter Moran
Date2022 August 15
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes, 49 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
Description(a) Interview with Erin Haggan. Interviewed by Peter Moran on August 15, 2022 at Otis Library, 261 Main Street, Norwich. (b) Photograph of Erin Haggan taken at her interview. She was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Historical Society's Community History Project discussing her experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
At the time of the interview Erin was the Norwich Youth and Family Services Manager. She holds a master’s degree in social work.
Erin gave birth to a daughter named Brooklyn during the pandemic, who was born with Trisomy 18. Erin discusses her pregnancy during COVID and how she is able to schedule regular medical care and childcare for her daughter, despite a shortage of nurses. She also shared how COVID affected her, her husband, and their daughter when they contracted it.
Erin discussed her adjustment to working from home and using virtual meeting software, as well as how her staff pivoted to continue providing services to their community during COVID.
She did receive the vaccine, but did not have her daughter receive it because she did not know how her daughter’s body would react. She did not disagree with vaccine mandates but felt that employers should have paid for mandatory COVID tests if their staff were not getting vaccinated. She agreed with mask mandates.
Erin did not watch a lot of news, so she received updates about COVID from her husband. However, she does recall being in disbelief while watching the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.
She noted that some of her relationships were strained because of political differences, but she also strengthened her relationship with her husband.
Erin’s mental health improved during the pandemic because she was able to dedicate more time to self-care. She also learned to set boundaries with people, particularly when it came to making too many plans and filling her schedule.
During the pandemic, Erin lost her dog, Bowman, who died abruptly. She found a deeper spiritual connection.
Erin’s advice to people experiencing a future pandemic is to use the time to self-reflect and be better for yourself.
At the time of the interview Erin was the Norwich Youth and Family Services Manager. She holds a master’s degree in social work.
Erin gave birth to a daughter named Brooklyn during the pandemic, who was born with Trisomy 18. Erin discusses her pregnancy during COVID and how she is able to schedule regular medical care and childcare for her daughter, despite a shortage of nurses. She also shared how COVID affected her, her husband, and their daughter when they contracted it.
Erin discussed her adjustment to working from home and using virtual meeting software, as well as how her staff pivoted to continue providing services to their community during COVID.
She did receive the vaccine, but did not have her daughter receive it because she did not know how her daughter’s body would react. She did not disagree with vaccine mandates but felt that employers should have paid for mandatory COVID tests if their staff were not getting vaccinated. She agreed with mask mandates.
Erin did not watch a lot of news, so she received updates about COVID from her husband. However, she does recall being in disbelief while watching the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.
She noted that some of her relationships were strained because of political differences, but she also strengthened her relationship with her husband.
Erin’s mental health improved during the pandemic because she was able to dedicate more time to self-care. She also learned to set boundaries with people, particularly when it came to making too many plans and filling her schedule.
During the pandemic, Erin lost her dog, Bowman, who died abruptly. She found a deeper spiritual connection.
Erin’s advice to people experiencing a future pandemic is to use the time to self-reflect and be better for yourself.
Object number2022.20.35a-b
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Historical Society’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the impact of Covid-19 on Connecticans, particularly on Black and Brown communities, funeral homes, and on nursing home and elder care populations.Cataloging Note: This cataloging project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-249472-OMS-21.
Subject Terms
- Norwich
- Oral history
- Interviews
- COVID-19 (Disease)
- COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
- Oral narratives
- COVID-19 (Disease)
- People of color
- Health
- Public health
- Women
- White people
- Middle Easterners
- Middle Eastern Americans--United States
- Middle Eastern people
- Mothers of children with disabilities
- Norwich Youth and Family Services (Norwich, Conn.)
- Trisomy
- Trisomy 18
- Social workers
- Autoimmune diseases
- Work from home
- LGBTQIA+ people
- Mental health
- Therapy and counseling
- COVID-19 government response
- Zoom (Electronic resource)
- Miscarriage
- Physicians
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Healthcare
- Pregnancy
- Dogs
- Death
- Schools
- Family
- Friendship
- Relationships
- Students
- Vaccines
- Vaccine mandates
- Vaccine hesitancy
- Twelve-step programs
- Social media
- Developmental disabilities
- Masks
- Face masks
- Black Lives Matter movement
- Elections
- Floyd, George, 1973-2020
- Trump, Donald, 1946-
- Capitol Riot, Washington, D.C., 2021
- Capitol Riot, Washington, D.C., 2021
- Spirituality
- Genetic condition
- Congenital disorder
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project IMLS Museums for America Grant
- COVID-19 Pandemic Collection
Collections
- COVID-19 Pandemic Oral History Interviews (Community History Project), 2022-2023
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2022 August 3
2022 June 8
2022 June 7