Here we are at the start of school and the start of fall. We are in challenging times and we are in a climate of concern with schools opening. I last sent a message when we were in crisis at the start of the pandemic. Now our new routines of handwashing, keeping the distance and wearing masks have become normalized. Things have certainly changed in a very short space of time. When I reflect back to the start of the pandemic it is clear that a lot has been done to respond to the new reality. 

CVS took immediate action to minimize the exposure and impact of COVID-19 on the individuals we serve, families and our staff. Here are some of the steps we have taken since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. In early 2020, before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, we mobilized to increase purchases of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies for our staff and the individuals we serve. Conversations began in mid-January to identify areas of response for CVS in order to be well prepared.
2. On March 13th, I instructed our administration staff to move out of their offices and start working from home to free up program space and enable greater social distancing.
3. In mid-March, we minimized on-site support so that social distancing could occur – moving our service delivery to an online platform as well as providing service to a few individuals in our offices. Additionally, support was provided directly to individuals in their home.
4. Our employees have done an amazing job and we are deeply grateful for their commitment. We support staff by making sure they have enough masks, shields and gloves along with the right guidance to reduce the risk of infection. I acknowledge that the last several months have been stressful and an ordeal. To help reduce the stress we have endeavoured to be flexible and accommodating with our staff who are dealing with their own families, health issues and concern for their personal safety. CVS has worked hard to recognize and acknowledge our staff with letters of commendation, small gifts and especially early on, increased communication and acknowledgement. In the next few months eligible staff will receive the Federal/Provincially funded Pandemic Pay of $4 an hour for taking up risk when working directly with people. We are glad that staff have not suffered any loss of pay throughout the last six months and that CVS remains financially stable.
5. A comprehensive online program was developed for the individuals we serve to continue support for families and the individual – this continues to be delivered over Zoom. Between now and Christmas we are moving to Microsoft Teams for enhanced security. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks. 
6. We developed detailed policies and protocols for COVID-19 response to prepare for any infection outbreaks. These plans and protocols were widely communicated to staff, the individuals we serve and families. We have since learned from our colleagues who have had occasions of infection.
7. Provided activity kits to the individuals we serve so families had something to do with their loved ones while at home.
8. Upon entering Phase 2 of the reopening plan, CVS developed strategic plans on the best approach to bring the individuals we serve back to face-to-face service but also to enable adequate social distancing. At the same time, we made plans with families in case we had to severely restrict service. 
9. CVS rented out 2 additional spaces in Coquitlam to enable more face-to-face support in a social distanced environment.
10. In light of an anticipated 2nd wave of COVID-19, CVS started to work on kits to provide PPE to individuals, families and staff so everyone has access to this equipment. We expect these to be sent out in mid-October. We hope you can use the kit to augment your supply of PPE so that you can minimize the transmission of COVID-19 for you and your loved ones. Please contact us if you need more PPE.

Throughout this pandemic, CVS has tried to stay ahead of the curve and plan as much as possible to protect the individuals we serve, families and our staff. We have done our best to shift our service delivery to create and maintain bubbles. However, this has had an impact on staffing as our ratios of staff to people served are becoming smaller due to trying to reduce the number of people who are grouped together, to try and keep staff in bubbles, and also because our staff have issues of personal concern arising from the pandemic in terms of health or childcare. As  a result, some days we are short on staff. If you have an issue or concern please give us a ring and we will do our best to respond. 

It appears as if we are in a 2nd wave of COVID-19 with rising cases across Canada. We have had some scares with people who have been exposed but so far we have been lucky that no one has tested positive yet. 

We have learned that this virus is mostly airborne so keeping 2 metres away from others and wearing masks are the best tools we have at present. We must stay the course with these efforts. As Dr. Henry says this is no time for gatherings. Clearly, social restraint is no fun and we have been unable to have the social events that we take for granted such as BBQ’s, parties and certain activities in the community. 

We are practicing segregation rather than inclusion. It is important that we keep to our vision and mission of inclusion as we practice segregation. At the same time, our prime directive is to keep people safe. We are in this for the long haul so we will do what we can to create opportunities for fun and connection. We are going to work on new ideas for activities indoors as winter approaches. Please know that Halloween and Christmas will have to be virtual this year and we are currently planning how to make this meaningful. 

We are prepared with PPE, good policies, and we have a great staff team. For the immediate future we will continue to provide service as best as we can while being safe. If we can, we will add more capacity and if things get worse and infections continue to rise we may have to be more restrictive. If someone in our circle gets infected we will support them. We will be patient, kind and understanding. Together we will get through this crisis.

Thank you and have a great weekend, 

Kevin Lusignan

We wanted to pass along a great interview with Nicole Porter about Mindful Breathing.  This is such a simple, key tool to help calm yourself during these challenging times. Watch the video below for more –

We hope this helps you relax into the weekend.

We wanted to share an incredible interview we found that could be very helpful for many of you to watch during these unprecedented times.

Many people are experiencing profound feelings of grief, anxiety, stress, and anger. In this exclusive interview, spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer and clinical psychologist Matthew McKay, PhD, offer unique insights to help navigate collective grief, respond to feelings of powerlessness and impermanence, and ultimately find peace and acceptance in a time of crisis.

Watch it here –

Over the past few weeks, cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise across BC. Although we have been managing through the pandemic relatively well, CVS is trying to stay on top of the curve and plan accordingly for a 2nd wave.

We found this article from the CBC interesting and encourage you to read it in your own planning.

The story highlights that British Columbia\’s COVID-19 curve is now climbing at a higher rate than the initial outbreak in March, and new provincial modelling shows BC could see a second wave bigger than the first by September.

The province\’s contact tracing efforts, however, could temper that growth, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday, after announcing 78 new COVID-19 transmissions.

As restrictions have eased, Henry said, the number of contacts people are having are about 70% of normal, despite the province recommending people keep their contacts to 60% to avoid a resurgence of cases.

Officials believed B.C. was at 30% of its regular interactions in Phase 1 of its restart plan, when many non-essential services closed. At the current 70% contact rate, daily cases could climb to 100 by September, according to the modelling. Although we are on an upwards trend it does not mean it has to turn out this way. We have the ability to flatten the curve as we did earlier this year.

To read more of this story, visit cbc.ca.