We've all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic at one point or another.
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We've been separated from loved ones, missed celebrating milestones, struggled to educate children at home or had to look out for the elderly from a distance.
These are stories worth telling - to remind us of the ties that bind us as a community.
So a week or so ago, we started a new series: The COVID-19 Divide.
Our aim is to put a human face on the struggles of this age and so far we've brought you some compelling stories.
Murtoa-born Matthew Tepper, who lives close to the Al Taqwa College, in Melbourne's west - one of Victoria's largest cluster of coronavirus cases - is in lockdown.
He said the hardest thing was not being able to return to the Wimmera to see his two new nieces, born in April and July.
When things got tough, Horsham's Sonia Marra wanted to turn for support to her 93-year-old grandmother, Shirley - her rock - but border closures have kept them apart.
"It's been very upsetting because my grandmother's basically my rock, she's the one I lean on the most," she said. "Of course, not being able to see her or be with her, it's been really, really hard. She's the one I miss the most."
For Rainbow's Ellisha Martion, the separation from her partner Ben Moles, who lives in Queensland, has meant being apart on their first anniversary.
"I know we can still FaceTime but it's just not the same," she said. "I was shattered when the announcement of the borders shutting came through."
Then there are those fighting to keep traditions alive in a year when so much as had to be put on hold.
Stawell dance trainers Neil and Sheila Thornton have said the 2020 deb "must" go ahead this year if restrictions allow - keeping alive a rite of passage that run through generations of families.
"We'll have to do a refresher with the students but we finished all the training before it was cancelled," Mrs Thornton said.
Fingers crossed they can put all that knowledge to happy use.
And keep an eye out for more COVID-19 Divide articles.
Have a great week.
Juanita Greville
Acting Editor
PS Do you have a story to tell about your time during COVID-19? I'd love to hear from you. Contact me at juanita.greville@austcommunitymedia.com.au