Emergency Preventive Measures re: COVID-19 Outbreak
March 14, 2020
Dear ActionDignity Board, Staff, Brokers, Community Members, Volunteers and Partners,
We hope you and your families are all safe and staying healthy. Your health and well-being is of utmost importance to us. We have been closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19.
Upon the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, we held an All Staff Emergency Meeting on March 11, and agreed on a plan to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. We also sought advice from our Board Chair Dr. Ilyan Ferrer and Former Chair Kim Manalili. While the risk of infection remains low in Alberta at this time, we will follow precautions that ensure that our communities will maintain the capacity to be able to effectively care for those who may require care and treatment over the coming weeks.
ActionDignity is taking necessary preventive steps to ensure that we abide by the guidelines set forth by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Alberta Health Services. Effective today, until at least first week of April, or until such time when we are informed that it is safe to resume our normal operations, ActionDignity will make the following adjustments while conducting its work:
1. All Staff will work from home and communicate online or through email, phone, teleconferencing
2. In-person meetings, trainings, activities and events will be postponed or cancelled
3. Postpone or cancel out of Calgary trips and observe minimum of 14-day quarantine for those arriving from another country
4. Work will continue to be implemented in a safe and limited way, such as writing (reports, proposals, manuals, evaluations, etc.) teleconferencing, phone calls, emails, online communications, mails and other safe means
5. Provide resources for staff and Community Brokers to safely continue work in a modest capacity
6. We will temporarily stop the use of ActionDignity premises including meeting rooms and office space for in-person meetings
7. We will reschedule our Casino fundraising event until it is safe to do so. We will update you on this matter as soon as we hear from AGLC and our Board.
IMPORTANT SHIFT IN WORK FOCUS:
In the spirit of serving and caring for our community members, volunteers, and families:
8. We need to shift our focus to COVID-19 related matters, especially our Community Broker work. We need to provide accessible and reliable information and measures, while preventing a situation of panic. This is the time to explore safe, creative and effective means of monitoring and helping address the impact of this global crisis on our communities, including their emotional, mental, economic, physical and social well being. I hope our staff and Community Brokers will initiate an online platform to discuss this and come up with a concrete plan. We welcome Board and Board Committee advice.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE:
Centres for Disease and Control: Managing Anxiety and Stress
Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 Outbreak: https://www.mhinnovation.net/resources/addressing-mental-health-and-psychosocial-during-covid-19-outbreak
If you have any ideas, questions or concerns please feel free to contact me directly. Or, feel free to communicate with your ActionDignity staff contact, or Info@actiondignity.org. We will regularly monitor messages left in our office phone. We will do our best to respond as promptly as we can.
We will review and adjust our measures on an ongoing basis. Please make sure you monitor developments regularly. More importantly, we urge you to diligently follow guidelines set forth by Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The World Health Organization also offers resources in different languages. Although panic, fear, racism, or the stockpiling of supplies can overwhelm us, please continue to do what you can to protect the public health. While you take precautions to protect yourself and your family, we would also encourage you to be mindful of caring for one another and maintaining social connection (even through phone or digital means), particularly for those who may struggle with isolation and anxiety. Stay healthy and safe. Let us continue to care for each other. Take good care.
Warm regards,
Marichu Antonio, ActionDignity Executive Director
(Marichu.Antonio@actiondignity.org)
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