Monday May 18, 2020 is the Victoria Day Holiday
BC’s Careful Restart PlanThe Provincial government announced their BC Restart Plan last week, with the next phase beginning on May 19th, after the long weekend. It is a very gradual plan where health and safety and controlling the risk of infection are still the primary considerations. Spectrum as an employer and service provider must also consult with WorkSafeBC and CLBC to determine the necessary safety procedures that must be in place as we consider changes to services. Stay tuned for more information as we get guidance from the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafe BC and CLBC. Dear self advocates and families, We were all pleased to hear last week from Premier John Horgan and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry that the spread of the COVID-19 virus has gone down due to the efforts of all British Columbians and that plans have begun to re-start our province. You can read their announcement here. Your actions have made a differenceThe actions of individuals and families to take steps to stay at home and practice physical distancing are paying off. According to the provincial health analysis, actions to date have reduced peoples’ contact with others to about 30 per cent of what it was. While there have been some cases of COVID-19 among those we serve, they have so far remained low and unchanged for several weeks. It would have been much worse if not for the steps you took to follow the guidance of the Provincial Health Officer. The government approach to re-starting the provinceThe government approach to re-starting the province will focus on continuing to slow the spread of the virus and keep people safe, while considering the physical and mental health impacts and the need to get people back to work. We know that physical distancing has taken an emotional toll on self advocates. We understand that many families have taken on extra caregiving duties. Some of you want to see services restored soon. This must be done carefully to keep self advocates, families, home sharing providers and agency staff safe. According to the scientific model, in this second stage people can safely return to up to 60 per cent of the kinds of contacts with others that we used to have – but we need to do this together in a coordinated and measured way to make sure we keep people safe. How do we keep people safe in this stage?How do we adjust and restore CLBC funded services to this safe new level? Some individuals and caregivers may be very worried about any increased contacts. Others will be eager to get their services back as quickly as possible. The shift to stage two needs to be based on guidance from the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafeBC and the unique needs of individuals and families. It also needs to be coordinated with the agencies that are involved in many individuals’ lives. Some people have asked about re-starting services as early as May 19. Please be patient. The government has been clear to say this is not like an “off” and “on” switch. Services cannot immediately return to what they were. We have asked service providers to keep services as they are now until they receive further guidance. Services cannot immediately return to what they wereAs you know, many individuals we serve are at greater risk of harm should they contract the virus. This is also true of some families, home sharing providers and staff. Therefore, we need to proceed with plans that have input from individuals and families and that are coordinated with service providers and with other agencies involved in individuals’ lives. CLBC is using core guidelines announced by the government and Provincial Health Officer on May 6 and found here to develop guidance for community living services in stage two of COVID-19 recovery. We plan to distribute this guidance by the week of May 25 to our service providers. CLBC is developing guidance for stage twoOnce they get this, service providers can begin to plan to adjust their services over the next months in a way that is safe for individuals, families, home sharing providers and their support workers. After we distribute the guidance we will organize teleconference calls to provide an update on community living services in stage two. Stay tuned for invitations that will be distributed and posted on our CLBC COVID-19 web site pages at www.communitylivingbc.ca . We know that while the current situation has helped reduce transmission it has not been easy on people. We won’t be able to immediately go back to the way it was before COVID-19, but we will work carefully and base our actions on public health guidance to start moving in that direction. Sincerely, Ross Chilton Community Living in Isolation: Responding to COVID-19 – WebinarLike other social justice movements, the Community Living movement has worked to support and empower a group that has been historically oppressed and disenfranchised. Central to that work is the creation of communities where people with developmental disabilities are fully included and have socially valued roles. What then does Community Living look like in a pandemic – when access to community is limited? Below is a graphic recording of the presentation, and below that is link to a recording of the webinar. Thank you to Larry Greco for sharing his experiences!
https://bcnpha.ca/courses/community-living-in-isolation-responding-to-covid-19-webinar/ COVID-19 Survey for BC Centre for Disease ControlBC COVID-19 SPEAK: Your story, our future is a population health survey to elicit citizen experience, knowledge and actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey is the first of several activities that will strengthen our pandemic response and our understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 to date (social, economic, mental wellness and community wellness).http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/covid-19-survey The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete online. If you can’t do the survey on the website, you can complete the survey by phone at 1-833-707-1900, seven days a week between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Language interpreting services are also available for assistance with completing the survey over the phone. Help the people in your life to participateIf you know someone who may have difficulty accessing or using a computer, open the survey via the link above, give them a call, and go through all the questions, inputting their answers into the online survey on their behalf. We need your help to prepare for B.C.’s future, and every voice counts. Access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)As we have mentioned in previous updates, Judy and Jeriah have done an amazing job of sourcing and purchasing equipment and cleaning supplies to assist us with keeping people safe and healthy. We have been able to buy some washable fabric masks that are available for staff and people we support who want to use a mask when they are in community places where physical distancing is difficult (eg. Transit or grocery stores).
These masks are available at the office and managers can order up to two per staff to be delivered to their program locations along with other PPE and cleaning supplies. To be used safely, the same rules apply as for the medical masks. You need to wash your hands before touching your mask, you need to avoid touching your eyes and nose and mask while wearing it and you need to put it into the laundry or a sealed bag when you take it off, and wash your hands after taking it off. Take care, be calm and be kind. May 18 Translink Service Reductions SuspendedMay 8, 2020: Translink customers can be assured that they will be able to get back to work as The Province and TransLink have announced their commitment to ensure transit service is available. Translink is working to suspend the May 18 service reductions and are reviewing all transit service levels to ensure they are balancing the need to help customers get around the region, with the need to maintain and respect enhanced safety protocols. Further service and safety-related announcements will be made shortly. For more details on the announcement, please see the Translink media release. Support For Seniors provided by Government of CanadaThe federal government is announcing new measures today to help seniors struggling financially because of COVID-19. More information here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/seniors-supports-covid19-1.5565743 International Nurses DayMay 11th was International Nurses Day and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. Florence was a trailblazer in modern nursing, and I know the bravery and commitment of our nurses today would make her proud. Nightingale’s hygiene innovations, including washing your hands, are all too important today. Thank you to all the nurses in our hospitals and in our community services that help us keep people safe and healthy! ________________________________________________________________________________________________ What are YOU doing for FUN during these times?Every Friday Night at 7pmwww.nanaimocommunitydances.com Join a Virtual Dance on Zoom or Livestream and dance with everyone from the comfort of your own place. With Music Requests, fun and games, it’s perfect for everyone to have some fun during these times that are so challenging. How to Join the Virtual Dance Parties
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ May 7, 2020 Dear Home Sharing Providers, This is a special edition of our information bulletin for home sharing providers to share with you the details of the government’s recently announced COVID-19 emergency funding. Due to the pandemic, the most recent meeting of the Home Sharing Working Group (HSWG) has been rescheduled to June 12, 2020. COVID-19 Temporary Emergency FundingThe government has announced that $35.6 million will be available over three months (through June 2020) from CLBC to support important residential services including group homes, home sharing and supported living. See the government announcement here. During the pandemic many home sharing providers have been impacted. Some support individuals who have chronic health issues and may have had to self-isolate. Others have had to adjust to the loss of day programs or other community services and supports. We are pleased funding is being provided to help home sharing providers who have taken on extra caregiving duties because of these impacts. The approach… Implementing temporary funding to more than 4,000 home sharing providers requires significant preparation and planning. We appreciate the patience and understanding of service providers and home sharing providers. CLBC staff have tried to create a process that is simple, straightforward and relatively quick. Who is eligible… All home sharing providers who are delivering more services or supports to individuals now as a result of COVID-19 are eligible for emergency supports for shared living unless the supported individual has gone to live elsewhere during the COVID-19 crisis. The application process… Emergency funding will be processed through coordinating agencies. CLBC has provided information to these agencies to outline how to reach out to each of their home sharing providers, confirm eligibility and apply to CLBC for the funding in a simple process. You can see this interim guidance document here. Home sharing providers who contract directly with CLBC will apply for the funding via their CLBC Liaison Analyst. They can find more information here. How much funding will go to home sharing providers? Home sharing providers who are eligible for the funding will receive a flat rate payment for each supported individual. This will range between $500 and $1,500 per individual per month depending on the level of disability-related support needs as determined by the Guide to Support Allocation. Learn more… Home sharing providers should contact and work with their home sharing coordinator if they have questions. If they contract directly with CLBC, they should contact their CLBC Liaison Analyst if they have questions. You may also send a question at anytime to CLBCInfo@gov.bc.ca . Update on 2020 increases to home sharing ratesAs you know, this past February CLBC also announced its second year of home sharing rate increases. You can find information about these rate increases here. CLBC is continuing to work on implementation of these increases with our coordinating agencies. We expect most home sharing providers to have received these rate increases by October 2020. Increases will be retroactive to April 1, 2020. Home Sharing Working Group projectsThe Home Sharing Working Group had also initiated work on two other projects:
This work has been suspended during the pandemic. However, you can read about them in our last update here. Thank you for all you are doing during these difficult days. Sincerely, Home Sharing Working Group Members _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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