The CDC classifies "essential workers" as "those who conduct a range of operations and services in industries that are essential to ensure the continuity of critical functions in the United States." When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, these workers were expected to put their lives at risk to serve the health, well-being, and comfort of the rest of the population.
This collection showcases a few of the support structures that communities have built to assist their essential worker populations, ranging from making the streets easier to traverse on bicycles (protecting delivery workers), to providing child care, to finding housing.